What's not to love about my new life after transmigrating into a Pet-centered world?
There are mighty creatures that come in all shapes and sizes. They can either be cuddly companions, helpers in your daily life, daring scouts or strong fighters. Or all of the above. Not bad, huh?
I have a family, but the fact is completely overshadowed by my younger sister. She thoroughly hates my guts, and she makes sure that I know this. Every. Single. Day.
Did I mention that she's disgustingly talented while I am a bottom feeder? A terribly handsome one at that.
I have free rein to run the family business on my own. A small and quaint Pet Store. It should have been great if not for the fact that the previous owner of this body was born with ZERO affinity to handle Astral Pets…
It wouldn't be a proper transmigration without a gimmick or a system to pave my road to greatness, don't you think? I have one, but I don't know if I would be better off without it…
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Chapter 1: World of Astral Pets
Translator: Henyee Translations
Editor: Henyee Translations
"My handsome brother, time to get up."
Eh?
"Who is calling me handsome?"
"Wait a minute."
"Wasn't I sleeping alone? Who's talking?"
Surprised and bewildered, Su Ping quickly opened his eyes. He turned around to take a look. Just one glance almost scared him half to death!
Leaning against his pillow was a ghost that was bleeding from all the seven openings of her face. A twisted smile was ripping her mouth open, revealing ghastly white teeth.
"What the f*ck!!"
Trembling, Su Ping gave the ghost a backhand slap.
His hand went straight through the ghost's face and landed on the soft pillow. It was just like fanning the air!
The ghost grinned a bit and stuck out her scarlet tongue.
Su Ping was terrified. He hastened to turn around and flee. However, he didn't pay attention due to panic; his hand was misplaced and he fell off the bed face first on the ground.
"It hurts!"
Su Ping felt his nose was broken and the pain caused a burning sensation.
That being said, he then felt cold all over his body once he thought about the horrifying ghost again.
"Um, pff…"
It seemed as if someone was trying to hold back but failed. There was a burst of laughter coming from the side.
Su Ping shivered from fear. Was the ghost laughing?!
"Ha, ha, ha… Su Ping, are you trying to kill me with laughter? How hopelessly spineless can you be, to be frightened like this!"
The laughter came from the side of the room.
Su Ping was startled.
He turned around.
At the foot of the bed stood a delicate and cute girl with bright eyes and white teeth, wearing orange pajamas with cartoon characters. She was pretty, but at the moment she was laughing so hard that the word beauty no longer had anything to do with her.
"What is going on?"
Su Ping was confused. Then, he suddenly noticed there was something different about the environment of the room.
The first thing that jumped out was a huge poster of a monster on the wall behind the girl. That had to be a poster from some movie.
This was not his room!
Su Ping never had the habit of putting up posters in his room.
Where was the ghost girl?
Upon remembering the shock she had given him when he woke up, he quickly turned his head to look.
There was nothing on the bed. The ghost girl was gone!
"Did she leave?"
Su Ping was in a daze. He was just about to breathe in relief.
And yet, all of a sudden, a black figure whooshed out from under his blanket. It was a black cat.
It was more of a "rolling" than a "whooshing" out. The cat was so chubby that it was practically a ball.
"Snowball, come here," the girl said to the black cat.
Hearing her voice, the black cat spared no effort in struggling with its four limbs to stand, finally turning around from its belly-up position. The cat shook its fur for a bit, threw a glance to Su Ping who was still cowering on the ground and walked toward the girl with graceful little steps.
Maybe he was just imagining things, but Su Ping thought he was being despised by a cat.
At that moment Su Ping suddenly noticed two sharp horns on the head of the black cat. There were a few strands of dark red hair on its forehead, forming something like a circle of flames.
A question mark slowly emerged above Su Ping's head.
Buzzing!
Suddenly, as if space and time were quivering…
Su Ping's vision blurred. Like flood currents, countless pieces of information were surging in his head from all sides.
"Su Ping? Su Lingyue?"
"Astral Pets?"
"Another world?"
The information that came in a continuous stream was confusing and overwhelming. Su Ping felt his head was about to explode, and the pain was unbearable. He had to clench his teeth to somewhat hold back the urge to utter a sound.
He didn't know how long it took before the messy storm of information in his head gradually quieted down. Some clips of memory emerged in an orderly manner along the timeline.
He had been transported to another world…
Su Ping came to the realization. No wonder he was in this unfamiliar room with that strange girl and the odd cat.
"However, I was just curling up at home to sleep! How could I be transported to another world like this?"
"Was it because I used my hand for some pre-sleep exercise?"
Inside, Su Ping was smiling bitterly. He began to sort through the memories in his mind.
"This is a world similar to earth. But the technology is more advanced, already having entered the era of interstellar travels, reaching far beyond the earth. At the same time, the focus here is not technological development, but the unique Astral Pets!"
"Astral Pets come in great variety and have everything to do with human society. There are Tool Bats who are in charge of infrastructure, transportation and work in daily life, even in scientific research! Battle pets are responsible for pioneering new frontiers amongst the stars and they also offer support in wars. When it comes to battles and status classification of major countries, the might of the battle pets is the decisive factor!"
"Astral Pets…"
Su Ping indulged himself in those memory clips. The more he knew, the more shocked he was. He then understood what that ghost girl was about.
"Battle pet of the demon family, the Phantom Flame Beast's main ability is to construct illusions and manipulate fire elements…"
This Phantom Flame Beast was that strange cat, a ferocious and tough battle pet of the demon family. This was an Astral Pet that was proficient both in spirit control and element control, a "rare" kind that could cost an arm and a leg!
Su Ping couldn't believe that "his" younger sister Su Lingyue would use such a rare Astral Pet just to trick him every day…
Once he finished browsing through the memories of his body's original owner, Su Ping found this life both funny and annoying. This brother and sister were such a quarrelsome pair; they mutually couldn't stand the sight of the other since young. At first, Su Ping was the one who often played pranks to bully and scare his younger sister. However, the tables had turned as they grew up. It was Su Ping's turn to spend his days on tenterhooks.
The trigger for such a change was because they had entered different schools when they were twelve.
One of them went to a common trade school.
The other went to the Academy of Astral Pet Warriors!
In a world that was centered on Astral Pets, not everyone could become an Astral Pet Warrior. Only the ones that were well-endowed at birth could build contracts with Astral Pets!
It was determined at birth that the former "Su Ping" didn't have such talent, which meant that he was destined to be a normal person.
But, in their childhood, this pair of brother and sister didn't understand this concept. Therefore, the talented Su Lingyue had always been the one on the receiving end, being constantly bullied by Su Ping who had no talent to train Astral Pets.
Once they realized the difference between them, the disastrous life for Su Ping had finally begun.
This younger sister of his was not one to be taken lightly. She harbored a bitter resentment due to all the times she had been bullied by her big brother. She had been repaying him that kindness by several folds over the years.
At the present day, the gap between them had widened even more. One of them was a genius girl who was enrolled in a famous school, with a promising future ahead of her, while the other couldn't even get into an average university. He would have to drop out of school to help out the family in the business.
"Well, what are you doing there? You didn't damage your head with the fall, did you?"
Su Lingyue felt something was unusual as she stared at the dumbstruck Su Ping who was sitting on the ground. She frowned, since she remembered that he fell head first.
She wasn't worried about Su Ping's safety, but their parents might blame her for this.
"Eh?"
Su Ping came back to his senses. He threw a look at the proud girl who was there holding her head high with her arms folded in front of her chest. He didn't know what to do with her. "Don't play pranks like this anymore," said Su Ping.
Since he had taken over this body, he didn't want to continue with the practical-joke-revenge living arranged by his sister.
Su Lingyue was taken aback.
"Wouldn't he usually jump right up and give vent to a torrent of abuse to call me a shrew?
"Why is he so quiet today?
"Could it be…
"He thinks I could become soft-hearted just because he wants to submit?
"Hmm!"
"As long as you haven't become dumb. Well, truth be told, maybe you can become smarter with your head smashed, given your poor intelligence." Su Lingyue sneered. She turned around and left right away. "Don't dawdle. Hurry up and get down for breakfast. Don't make mom tell me to come up and get you again!"
Slam!
She smashed the door behind her.
Su Ping produced a forced smile. Why was his younger sister so violent when other people's sisters were cute and lovable girls?
Whoosh!
The door was pulled open again.
Su Ping was startled. It was Su Lingyue who had returned. She hid her spooky face behind the door as she added, "Also, don't tell mom on me. Or else…" Then she made a cutthroat gesture.
Slam!
The poor door had to shoulder another strike before Su Ping could give a reply.
"…"
Su Ping sat there for a while and crawled back up after he was sure no more sounds were coming from outside.
He glanced around the room and saw many action figures and posters of Astral Pets. While he was a normal person in this world, he wasn't inferior to the average Astral Pet Warriors regarding the studies on Astral Pets.
Of course, this didn't stem from his great love of Astral Pets. This bro hated Astral Pets. He was only delving in such studies to find a way to defeat Astral Pets as an average person!
To be more accurate, to find a way to defeat his sister's Astral Pet!
However, many years had passed; he was still on the receiving end of maltreatment and contempt without the ability to fight back. One could only imagine how difficult his life had been, for him to have researched this much.
Su Ping had a surge of mixed feelings after he reviewed the 18-year life of this man. Not only was he a good-for-nothing, but he had also offended the only powerful person he could have latched himself to. He had been mischievous since he was a kid. He created so many troubles and fooled his sister many times. He would put caterpillars in her lunchbox or scare her in the dead of night by dressing up as a ghost. He was practically the cause of her childhood trauma.
Look at the results. He had turned the girl whose coattails he could ride on into his foe. Besides, this sister of his was not a kind person. She had become his adulthood trauma for a change.
Su Ping definitely had to find a chance to reconcile with this powerful sister. Otherwise, he would be traumatized or his nerves would be wrecked after a few more rounds of peculiar scares.
Su Ping got himself ready, then he put on his slippers and headed downstairs.
"What took you so long? The congee is getting cold. Hurry up," his mother, Li Qingru, said. She seemed to be in her forties, gentle and refined.
Su Lingyue had already dug in and remained by the table. She had placed the Phantom Flame Beast named "Snowball" on the chair next to hers, which was supposed to be his spot.
Su Ping curled his lips. Even at a simple breakfast, he could still feel such a vindictive nature…
"Coming."
Su Ping went to the living room to get another chair. He took a look at the substantial breakfast with congee, meat pies, and soybean milk. He was getting hungry.
Su Lingyue raised her eyebrows and cast a glance at Su Ping. She deliberately used Snowball to occupy his seat to provoke him, so that he would get angry and scream and yell. That way she would tell her mom to scold him. Why did he bear the insult?
Curious.
There was some alertness in Su Lingyue's looks. Was this guy up to something by acting out of character?
"Mom, I'm done. I'll be heading to the academy now." Since her plan had fallen through, Su Lingyue was no longer in the mood to stay. She finished her breakfast quickly and bid farewell to her mom.
When she was about to leave, Li Qingru stopped her, "Xiao Yue, wait."
"Ah?" Su Lingyue turned around.
"Recently, your brother's store hasn't been performing very well, it's not quite popular. How about you put Snowball there just to put on the dog?" Li Qingru tried to sound her out.
Su Lingyue was surprised. She threw a glance at Su Ping who was swallowing down the congee. She rolled her eyes and grumpily reasoned with her, "Mom, the business has been worsening day by day since you let this guy take over. Why do you think that is? The reason is that this guy is not attending to his proper duties. Do you still remember when someone almost filed a complaint against us at the Association of Astral Pets?
"Someone left a 'Messenger Bird' there for the boarding service. However, it started saying 'f*ck you dumb*s' to all the people it met, and it would blurt out all kinds of curse words, all in less than a week. A few days later, the bird was beaten to death and this case remained unresolved!"
"Do you have the courage to have my Snowball be raised by him when he can't even take care of a Messenger Bird? There is hope that Snowball can advance to an Astral Pet of the eighth rank. If you don't mind, I won't, either. After all, you were the one that bought me Snowball."
Li Qingru was rendered speechless. She opened her mouth but ended up sighing.
If it weren't for the fact that she had to rest quietly to recuperate since she was under the weather, she wouldn't have asked Su Ping to take over the store so early.
Su Ping could sense his sister's unkind glare but decided to keep silent. He lowered his head and continued eating the congee without paying attention to Su Lingyue.
"Hmm!" she snorted, after sensing that Su Ping knew how to behave in a delicate situation. She picked up Snowball who was still eating bones and went back to her room to get changed and head out.
A moment later, Su Ping had also finished his breakfast. As per usual, after Li Qingru told him to take care, he rode the bike to the store.
It was an Astral Pets store.
Su Ping was a dabbler trainer. His work was more related to Astral Pets' servicing than to actual training.
After all, the real master trainers could change the potential and rank of an Astral Pet. The master trainers enjoyed similar, or even higher positions than Astral Pet Warriors!
Along the way, Su Ping saw high buildings and large mansions, just like on earth. The only thing different was the peculiar-looking Astral Pets walking alongside most of the pedestrians.
"I am indeed in another world…" Su Ping exclaimed. Everything was like a dream but it was every bit as real.
Soon, he had arrived at his family's Astral Pet store.
The store was at the end of a commercial street, a relatively remote location, but it used to be pretty popular. Su Ping's mother Li Qingru was an official Astral Pet trainer of the Federation. While she was only an elementary trainer, she was more than capable of opening a small store like this. She had loads of repeated customers.
But things turned south quickly when Su Ping took over the store.
Could anyone expect that a person who disliked Astral Pets would take good care of them?
Crash~!
Su Ping opened the roller shutter door. He could see dust stirring up in the air when sunshine reached the interior of the store.
It seemed the store hadn't been cleaned in a long time. There was a pungent smell of animal urine and feces coming from the inside.
Su Ping frowned and held his breath for a bit.
All of a sudden, cold mechanic sounds emerged in Su Ping's mind.
"A suitable soul was detected within the target range. Performing contract detection…"
"Contract completed. Adding to the system…"
"Completed… Ready to launch…"
"System?"
Su Ping paused for a second. Then, glow burst out from his eyes.
What should come was coming…
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Chapter 2: Ancient Cultivation Sites
Translator: Henyee Translations
Editor: Henyee Translations
As an Otaku, Su Ping would spend all his days "learning" online. He was not a stranger to systems. Pleasantly surprised, Su Ping began to probe the functions of this system immediately.
"I am the Super Pet System, dedicated to cultivating the strongest pets in the world, and the motto of this system is: everything can be cultivated, and everything is a pet!"
"A pet cultivation system?!" Su Ping exclaimed in surprise.
The system sounded presumptuous. Everything was a pet. So, could flowers and the grass along the road be counted as pets as well?
"Flowers and grass can be pets as well, when they have intelligence and are spiritually awakened. Pets of the vegetation family evolved from common plants," the system gave an indifferent reply.
Su Ping was taken aback. He glared at the air and asked, "You can hear my thoughts?"
"I am connected with the host's soul. Of course, I am aware of my host's thoughts… Warning, first profanity alert!"
"…"
Su Ping fell into silence.
"The system has been activated. You, my host, must add a pet store that belongs to you within 24 hours. If the addition fails, the system will be removed and the memory of the day will be erased…" The system added.
"The system would be removed?"
Su Ping raised his eyebrows after hearing that reply. While a system wasn't all that uncommon, it was a system nonetheless.
"There's a pet store right in front of me. Can I add this one?" Su Ping asked telepathically.
"Authorized. Please confirm."
Su Ping confirmed right away.
After all, this pet store was owned by his family. He could do whatever he wanted with it.
"Addition was successful. Adjusting the pet store…"
"[Pet Trough] established, [Nursing Pen] established, [Window to Cultivation Plane] established…"
"Set-up is finished. Initiating beginner's quest…"
"Two pets are detected in the store. Please select any one pet and enhance its strength by three-fold within a week to reach the standard deemed as 'qualified' by this system."
As the system finished its reports, promptly, Su Ping felt the Astral Pet store appeared to be different than before. The previous pungent smell of urine and animal feces was gone. At the same time, the store appeared to be tidier and cleaner. The items were the same as before but the outlook was completely new.
"Enhance the strength of an Astral Pet by three-fold? Within a week?" Su Ping wondered if he had heard the system wrong. Or, maybe, the system was acting up.
How hard was it to enhance the strength of an Astral Pet?
Without hunting and training day in and day out, or consuming popular brands of precious food, it was impossible!
It was incredibly hard to achieve progress by one fold, let alone three-fold in one try or the one week's time limit…
"What will happen if I fail in this quest?" Su Ping asked.
"The host must accept punishment for failure. The method of punishment will be drawn at random, including thunder punishment, purgatory punishment, extreme pain punishment…" the system answered.
Su Ping rolled his eyes. He could tell none of those forms of punishment were to be trifled with just by hearing the names.
"Can't I change to another quest?" Su Ping was making his final struggle.
"No." He was turned down ruthlessly. "Warning. Second profanity alert!"
"…"
"Third profanity alert! Thunder punishment randomly chosen!"
Hardly had the system's voice faded away when Su Ping felt a huge electric current running through his whole body. He was twitching like a zombie dancing Disco.
The electric current disappeared as quickly as it came. Su Ping felt a burning pain all over his body. He wanted to hurl out verbal insults but he pushed the urge down. A wise man should know when to retreat.
"Never mind. I will try out the quest first. If I fail, then I have to say the system is a piece of garbage!" Su Ping bit his teeth in hatred.
He dragged his aching body to the pet room inside the store.
As soon as he was inside, Su Ping noticed the place was more spacious. The main footprint was the same but the score of piled-up iron cages was gone. Taking their place were two rows of stone cages.
It was more like a strange stone array than stone cages.
Several stalagmites rose straight from the ground and surrounded the two Astral Pets. The gap between the stalagmites was big and there was no ceiling above them. The Astral Pets were virtually able to hop right out or squeeze through the gaps.
However, the two Astral Pets were lying on the ground without the slightest intention of "bailing out."
Su Ping raised his eyebrows. This had to be something the system had conjured up. The [Pet Trough] the system mentioned must be this.
He threw a look at the two pets in the stone array. Both were Battle Pets of the average type.
One of the pets was a Lightning Rat, an inferior grade Battle Pet of the agile type. Even in adulthood, a Lightning Rat would only reach the intermediate position of the first rank. The probability of Lightning Rats evolving was quite low. Even when they did evolve into Thunderstorm Rats, they could only reach the third rank, which was as high as they could go.
The other one was Moon Chasing Hound, also an inferior grade Battle Pet of the agile type. When grown-up, Moon Chasing Hounds would be at the high position of the first rank, about as powerful as a Siberian tiger on earth.
Su Ping faintly remembered that those two Astral Pets were left in the store's pet boarding service and were going to be picked up after a couple of days.
"I'm going with the Lightning Rat."
Su Ping considered his options and chose the weaker Lightning Rat. This way, the room for improvement would be larger.
He heard the system's voice again, "Pet selected. Please choose a Cultivation Plane."
As soon as the system finished the sentence, a surreal ray of white light suddenly appeared in front of Su Ping and it tore apart space, forming a vertical crack that was in the shape of an eye. There was a destructive aura on the other side of the opening, able to twist anything it came into contact with.
Su Ping was taken aback. Upon confirming that this thing wouldn't pose any danger to him, he asked the system. "What is a Cultivation Plane?"
"Cultivation Planes are the main sites for the breeding and cultivation of pets. The host can choose a site suitable to the selected pet to cultivate it."
"Cultivation sites?"
Su Ping dug through his memory for information on this regard. The cultivation of Astral Pets relied heavily on the sites. Therefore, many Astral Pet breeding stores would rent large areas to build up cultivation sites, also known as professional hunting grounds.
The larger pet stores would have such facilities as well, but with more thorough services.
For small pet stores like the one Su Ping was operating, they only had to feed their customers' pets and keep the place clean.
"Detecting pet. Lightning Rat. A pet of the thunder family. Match found for most suitable cultivation plane. Ancient Thunder Cloud Realm. Entering, yes or no?"
Su Ping felt baffled. "Yes… I guess."
Just as he finished speaking, he suddenly felt this cultivation plane's name somewhat familiar.
Astral Pets came from different backgrounds but most of them were from cracks in space, or maybe some were celestial bodies occupied by beasts and animals, while other Astral Pets were from ancient planets.
The Thunder Cloud Realm seemed to be an ancient birth site of Astral Pets in the thunder family that was broken and long gone.
It was said that there had been many top-level Astral Pets in the thunder family, such as the Thunder Dragon of Blue Sea, the Nine-headed Grand Thunder, and the Zephyr Beast, all of them were from the Thunder Cloud Realm. With the collapse and disappearance of the Thunder Cloud Realm, those top-level Astral Pets had become legends that could be rarely seen.
Could it be that the place he was going to was an ancient site that was long lost?
Before Su Ping had returned to his senses, he felt a strong force sucking him toward the crack with the surreal white light.
The sky and earth were spinning around.
Then, it turned pitch dark.
When he regained his sight, he saw a blurry white mist and heard the rolling sounds of dull thunders.
Su Ping was there in a daze for a moment before he felt shocked by the visuals in front of him!
Was this a lost ancient site?
He found himself in a vast area surrounded by giant trees. Clouds and fog were in the sky tens of meters away from the top of the trees. Lightning flashed amid the cloud and mist. Purple lights flickered as if dragons were there riding the clouds.
The boundless starry sky could be seen through the thinner areas in the sea of clouds and mist. Giant planets, near and far, were visible to the naked eye, so close that the rings of planetary meteorites on their surfaces were clear and distinct.
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Chapter 3: Infinite Times of Death
Translator: Henyee Translations
Editor: Henyee Translations
"The host has established connection to the Thunder Cloud Realm."
"Connection valid for three days…"
"During the beginner's quest, beginner's protection will be granted to the host: unlimited number of deaths during the exploration!"
"Temporary contract between the host and the pet has been established…"
"Please head out on your own…"
Su Ping was still stunned in this vast and ancient land unveiling in front of him when he was dragged back to reality by the row of prompt messages in his mind.
He came to a halt. Immediately, he noticed a line that indicated danger. Number of deaths?
A bad hunch rose in his mind.
All of a sudden, a huge shadow skimmed over his head. The day seemed to have become darker.
Su Ping raised his head, and his pupils were instantly dilated by the sight.
A pair of huge wings that could blot out the sky and cover the sun were stirring up the vast sea of clouds that seemed to stretch out to infinity. Lightning flashed and thunder roared among the dark purple wings; the countless clouds that were closest to them began to tumble over.
"What…"
"What the hell is this?!!"
Su Ping was dumbstruck.
Even a massive blue whale would be smaller than a feather of this giant beast!
While he was still in shock, a strong gale swept through in a matter of seconds, swooping down from a high altitude and slashing at him like thousands of wind blades.
"Run…"
Just as this idea came to Su Ping's mind, he felt excruciating pain all over his body. His sight dimmed and darkness struck all of a sudden.
"Am I dead?" Su Ping thought, with heavy-laden eyes. But light soon emerged as a flood. He opened his eyes; in front of him was still the vast and ancient scene and yet, the environment seemed to have changed. He was no longer surrounded by giant trees, but flourishing and tall blades of grass.
He remembered the prompt message from the system. Su Ping came back to his senses. Was this the so-called unlimited number of deaths?
He could die as many times as he wanted in that place?
This idea brought him some relief. That being said, he felt the urge to let loose a torrent of abuse in the next second.
While he wouldn't die for real, he wouldn't want to experience that pain when he thought he was going to be torn into pieces. It was too painful!
"System, I want to go home," Su Ping began to beg in an anguished tone.
"The quest has not been accomplished. An early return is not allowed."
"…"
"Warning! First profanity alert!"
"…!!"
Su Ping turned pale. He had to stay in this deserted world where giant beasts were running wild for three days? How many deaths would he have to endure?
He was on the verge of a mental breakdown. What kind of system was this?
"Rustle, rustle~!"
Abruptly, he heard a subtle sound.
The sound made Su Ping's hair stand on end. He looked over in terror, only to realize that the sound came from the Lightning Rat by his feet. This little guy had followed him to that place and was shivering in fright at the moment.
The little guy had also seen the giant beast that could cover up the entire sky and was surely scared to death.
"You poor little thing. You'll have to die many deaths for three days along with me…"
Su Ping sighed in despair. Misery loves company.
Maybe he felt close to the Lightning Rat because of the temporary contract. He felt sorry for the Lighting Rat after looking at the shivering animal. Su Ping crouched down to pat the rat to calm it down.
As he was patting the Lightning Rat…
It struck Su Ping that the goal of sending him there was to train this little guy.
To train the little guy so that its strength could be improved by three times within one week.
It was hard, for sure. But the focus in this quest should be the Lightning Rat!
This horrifying cultivation site was prepared for the Lightning Rat!
"The quest can be finished sooner if the Lightning Rat reaches the desired cultivation level. I can see that this is hard, but I'll never know if I don't push the limits, can I?"
After this thought, Su Ping turned his sight to the Lightning Rat that had gradually calmed down in his hand.
The jittery Lightning Rat slowly quieted down after being stroked by the warm hand, as if it represented a safe harbor. However, right then, the Lightning Rat was sensing a strong surge of uneasiness in its heart.
Following this hunch, the Lightning Rat looked over with its little rat eyes, only to see its temporary master glaring at itself with a pair of eyes that were shimmering with terror!
The Lightning Rat: "?"
"Come on. You can do this." Su Ping grinned.
The Lightning Rat felt chills.
The Lightning Rat surely realized something because it began to struggle and wiggle in Su Ping's hand with great effort.
While the Lightning Rat was an Astral Pet of the agile type, its strength was still greater than Su Ping's. In an instant, the Lightning Rat struggled itself free.
"Come back here!" Su Ping cried out at once.
But he shrank back as soon as the words were out of his mouth.
This was the Thunder Cloud Realm where ferocious beasts were everywhere. To scream and yell like this was practically a request for death.
Then, he remembered he had already built a temporary contract with the Lightning Rat. He concentrated and immediately noticed another faint presence of consciousness running alongside his own.
The first consciousness was conveying vague traces of emotions and ideas.
Fear, anxiety, shock, escape!
Those were from the Lightning Rat.
"Is this the power that comes with a contract with an Astral Pet? No wonder I hear people say that an Astral Pet and its master can share the same mind. It can hardly be understood without personal experience…."
Su Ping's eyes flickered. The power that came with the contract was something he had long wished for years back, which came with the very standard that distinguished the common public and the Astral Pet Warriors.
"Squeak—"
All of a sudden, he heard shrill cries made by the Lighting Rat coming from the bushes in the distance.
Scared, Su Ping ran over at once.
He saw that the Lighting Rat was confronting a large insect near the root of a giant grass of about seven to eight meters in height. Its fur was bristled and it was showing its teeth.
The large insect was about two meters long in a green color mixed with purple patterns. Some light produced by electricity would spring out from the purple patterns.
This was also an Astral Pet from the thunder family!
"Why does it look like a caterpillar?" The appearance of the large insect reminded Su Ping of such an insect. Only the former was hundreds of times more ferocious than a caterpillar.
"Sh*t, we're not going to be swallowed by this insect, are we?" Su Ping's blood was frozen as he saw all the sharp teeth covering the insect's mouth. Death came instantly when he was torn apart by the fierce wind caused by the gargantuan beast that could cover up the sky. If he were to fall victim to this giant insect, he would have a taste of living was no better than dying!
He even wanted to commit suicide at once.
However, if he did, he would be reborn in another random location later.
There was one more thing.
There was nothing around him that could be used as a weapon.
Su Ping looked around and only found a rock on the ground. He was filled with mixed emotions.
Bashing himself to death?
How much strength would he have to use to kill himself with one blow?
If he couldn't do it, what could he do if he remained in a half-dead state?
This question was lingering in Su Ping's mind like a sophisticated philosophy conundrum.
"Squeak!"
While Su Ping was still fantasizing about the most conveniently lethal angle to smash himself with the rock, he suddenly heard a shrill scream.
He looked up.
The Lighting Rat was about to lose its life. It had been grabbed by the giant insect. The giant insect had many feet, like a centipede. The sharp edges pierced through the Lightning Rat's soft belly. Blood was spilling out. The Lightning Rat passed away after only a bit of struggle.
Su Ping looked pale. He couldn't bear to look at the scene and there were unexplainable feelings of anger.
The system suddenly gave an alert. "Revive pet on the spot. Yes or no?"
Su Ping was surprised.
Seeing that the giant insect was about to stuff the Lightning Rat's body into its mouth, Su Ping shouted without further thinking, "Yes!"
Before the sound of his voice had died away, the Lightning Rat that was about to be put into the insect's maw suddenly turned into sparkles that fell back to the ground in front of the insect and took the shape of the Lightning Rat again.
Crack!
The insect missed its bite.
The insect was stunned, since its prey had suddenly come back to life.
The insect: "???"
Su Ping didn't offer any explanation to the insect. Since the Lightning Rat had come back to life, Su Ping yelled out at once, "Attack the insect!"
Thanks to the emotional strength passed along through the contract, Su Ping's directions were delivered to the Lightning Rat immediately.
The Lighting Rat was frozen on the spot because, in its mind, it was still seized by the terror of death. Su Ping's shout woke the Lightning Rat up. The obedience instinct that came from being domesticated emerged; the Lightning Rat rushed forward almost subconsciously.
With the speed of lighting!
Whoosh!
The Lightning Rat sped up all of a sudden and smashed itself against the giant insect.
Bang!
Due to the impact, the giant bug leaned backward. Halfway through, the insect stopped the motion. The sharp edges of its many feet moved fast. The insect grabbed the Lightning Rat and tore it apart in a most appalling way.
The Lightning Rat had died, again!
"Revive pet on the spot. Yes or no?"
"Do it!"
Su Ping didn't give it much thought. He issued another order to strike right when the Lightning Rat came back to life.
Since the number of revivals was unlimited, Su Ping was convinced that they would kill this giant insect eventually. While the gap in abilities between the insect and the Lightning Rat was vast, there was still a possibility of winning for the latter. He had to be able to grasp the tiniest chance of victory!
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Chapter 4: Special Skill
Translator: Henyee Translations
Editor: Henyee Translations
The Lightning Rat was still in shock after being brought back to life. However, it soon regained consciousness that time. After a second of hesitation, the Lightning Rat dashed toward the huge insect as commanded.
The huge insect was infuriated, since its prey had escaped twice from its mouth. When the Lightning Rat was about to arrive, the huge insect spat out a sort of white secretion that spread out like a spider's web, completely trapping the Lightning Rat.
Once its prey had been captured, the huge insect wiggled over and tore the Lightning Rat apart with the sharp claws.
"Revive!"
"Attack, again!"
Su Ping brought the Lightning Rat back to life immediately and told it to strike at once.
In just a blink, the Lightning Rat had been brought back to life again and again and killed by the huge insect over and over. At the eighth time it rushed on to face the web spat out by the giant insect, the Lightning Rat flashed over and disappeared on the spot in an instant, only to re-emerge somewhere further apart.
"Thunder Flash!"
Su Ping shivered from fear. Was the ghost laughing?!
Was that one of the 10 special skills for Astral Pets of the thunder family, "Thunder Flash"?
Su Ping wondered if he was hallucinating.
How could a Lighting Rat at the first rank comprehend a special skill of the thunder family that was so rare it was unimaginably precious?
Su Ping was surprised and confused.
Not even all of the advanced Astral Pets of the thunder family, such as those of the seventh or eighth rank, could master a top-level special skill of such rarity!
Besides, this Lightning Rat was just average, even poor, so to speak. The Lightning Rat might not even be able to learn the middle-rank pet skills of the thunder family, not to mention comprehend the special skills!
Su Ping kept his attention on the fight to observe.
After the sudden rush, the Lightning Rat came close to a side of the huge insect in the twinkling of an eye. The Lightning Rat had found a perfect soft spot. Lightning was generated around its body as the Lightning Rat smashed into the soft flesh on the side of the huge insect.
The huge insect fell to the ground immediately. There were some burns at its fleshy spot.
However, the insect was not yet entirely incapacitated. Instead, stimulated by the sharp pain, the insect began to twist and turn violently. Soon, it crawled back up and launched a strike at the Lightning Rat at a faster speed.
Having released all the energy, the Lightning Rat was tired so it was moving slowly. It died again after the huge insect's strike that trapped it.
"Revive," Su Ping said quickly.
The Lightning Rat came into being on the ground again. It was no longer confused and puzzled as before, as if it had gotten used to this fresh start after withstanding a short period of pain.
Faced with this traumatized insect, before Su Ping gave any orders, the Lightning Rat had dashed over to continue the unfinished battle.
Attack, injury, death, and revival.
After more than a dozen rounds, the huge insect finally fell, dying with anger and unwillingness because it could no longer defeat the never-dying Lightning Rat.
In the latter rounds, Su Ping never saw the "Thunder Flash" again; it seemed that such an attack was only a flash in the pan.
He felt sorry and a bit disappointed. That being said, he knew that as long as what he saw was real, then the Lightning Rat could do it again in the future, since it had already succeeded once!
Having taken care of the giant insect, Su Ping was able to catch a break. At the very least, he wouldn't have to be eaten up by the giant insect and experience that disgusting way of dying.
"Now I see that this place is dangerous indeed, but the training is productive."
Su Ping took a look at the Lightning Rat sprawled on top of the giant insect, exhausted. After the little guy was brought back to life, its crafty movements were faster and more agile. The Lightning Rat even employed deceptive movements to sneak up on its opponent.
The battle lasted only about 10 minutes, even though the Lightning Rat was lingering between life and death. It was incredible that the Lightning Rat could achieve such a stunning progress within such a short period.
Perhaps, after three days, the Lightning Rat's strength could advance rapidly!
Suddenly, Su Ping was filled with anticipation; finishing the quest was not entirely without hope.
"Come on, little guy." Su Ping patted the Lightning Rat on its little head. He stood up, ready to search for the next target.
Tired!
A feeling of reluctance came from the Lightning Rat.
Su Ping was surprised.
But recalling the arduous fight the Lightning Rat had put up to kill the giant insect, Su Ping felt he could empathize.
"Take some time to recover your strength first." Su Ping offered a kind smile.
The Lightning Rat, who was still lying on the back of the giant insect, looked up with low spirits. It was suddenly seized by a strange feeling as it glanced at the smiling face that was moving in closer.
Before the Lightning Rat could think, it felt a dull pain rushing in.
"Revive."
Looking at the Lightning Rat that came into being again on the ground, Su Ping asked with a grin, "Has your strength recovered yet?"
Su Ping had already noticed that every time after the Lightning Rat was brought back to life, it would return to its prime state without any signs of fatigue associated with excessive energy consumption from previous battles.
Therefore, this was the best way to recover.
The Lightning Rat's hair stood on end. This human smile was deeply engraved in its mind at this moment.
"Hiss!"
The Lightning Rat showed its teeth, as if warning Su Ping against such behavior.
Su Ping put down the claw he harvested from that giant insect. The claw was indeed sharp. He was able to impale the Lightning Rat with just a bit of strength. The claw could be regarded as a handy weapon.
"There, there. Let's go." Su Ping stroked the Lightning Rat's head.
The Lightning Rat ground its teeth ferociously. If it weren't for the restrictions of the contract, the it would have bitten this master to death.
…
…
Three days later.
A towering mountain in the Thunder Cloud Realm.
Cloud and mist curled around the mountainside with steep hills and cliffs. The splendor and magnificence formed a landscape painting of the deserted land that was tranquil and beautiful.
On an unassuming boulder, a couple of petty lives were engaged in a fierce battle of life and death!
"Hurry. Use 'Thunder Shadow Image' to distract it."
"Circle around to its back from the side."
"Use 'Thunder Slash' to strike its side."
Su Ping was standing by the boulder to communicate and give instructions telepathically.
Two figures in front of him, one big, one small, were fighting an intense fight.
The big one was a cockroach-shaped monster the size of an elephant. The quick and agile being was covered with a stone carapace in the color of lime and claws like sharp stone awls that grew out from its abdomen. This was a type of Astral Pet living in this land of boulders, and an earth family Astral Pet that was rarely seen in the Thunder Cloud Realm. For Astral Pets of the thunder family, those from the earth family were their arch enemies.
The small figure was the size of a regular domestic cat with purplish hair and electric arcs around its body. Its hair had wild curls like sharp needles. This was the Lightning Rat.
Buzzing!
Lightning surged. All of a sudden, the Lightning Rat charged toward the stone cockroach monster.
Out of instinct, the stone cockroach monster chased after the Lightning Rat.
However, right at this moment, a lighter purple flash whooshed by and appeared behind the stone cockroach monster.
Soon, the stone cockroach monster felt something was off. The Lightning Rat that was covered in electric arcs was running forward but that figure was getting fainter and fainter, until it was reduced to a half-transparent shadow formed by lightning.
It was an afterimage!
Abruptly, the stone cockroach monster sensed danger. It turned around quickly, only to see a ray of glaring purple light within its sight.
The Lightning Rat jumped up high from the ground. Lightning was gathering in increasing density around it, gradually forming a sharp blade that had concentrated strength.
Pff!
The blade of lightning fell. The soft spot between the gaps of the side carapace of the stone cockroach monster could not withstand this cut. The stone cockroach monster was cut into two!
Green blood spilled out onto the boulder.
"Perfect!" Su Ping snapped his fingers.
The Lightning Rat was able to kill this Astral Pet of the earth family that was a grade higher with only one life. The Lightning Rat was forging ahead by leaps and bounds, several times stronger than three days before.
It was a fact.
Just then, in his mind, he had received the prompt message from the system. The quest had been completed.
"I didn't know that we could do this within three short days…"
Su Ping exclaimed to himself. This was hardly imaginable.
That being said, to achieve such an improvement, both the Lightning Rat and Su Ping had devoted considerable effort. They had experienced different ways of dying for over a hundred times and the Lightning Rat had even experienced over a thousand deaths.
"Quest accomplished. Cultivation Plane closing…"
"Disconnecting host from the Thunder Cloud Realm…"
"Removing host and pet's temporary contract…"
"Prepare for return…"
In the next second, darkness fell into his eyes.
When the light came back to his world, the familiar scenes of the pet store emerged before Su Ping, as if a lifetime had passed.
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Chapter 5: Claiming the Pet
Translator: Henyee Translations
Editor: Henyee Translations
"Beginner's mission completed. Host interface unlocked…"
"Pet store is officially open for business."
"Establish [Currency Conversion] module. Establish [Chaos Spirit Pool for Incubation] module…"
"Beginner mission rewards issued. Collect now?"
Su Ping came back to his senses after the familiar sounds of the system's prompt tones. His eyes sparkled upon hearing the mention of rewards. "Collect!" he said without demur.
"The host has gained elementary 'Pet Identification Spell'."
"Pet Identification Spell?"
Su Ping waited for a few more seconds but heard no more prompt messages. He glared at the air in despair.
"Is that it?"
He exhausted himself in the three days of hellish torture and all he gained was a Pet Identification Spell book? And it was elementary?
With the Federal Illustrated Book for All Pets, Su Ping deemed this reward of little value or interest; such a skill could not be more worthless.
"The Pet Identification Spell issued by this system can help you gain insight into millions upon millions of types of Astral Pets. Your Illustrated Book for Pets cannot compare with this," the system gave a reply in a cold voice, clearly unsatisfied with Su Ping's complaint and resentment.
Su Ping stood in amazement.
To gain insight into millions upon millions of types of Astral Pets?
In his memory, even the most authoritative and comprehensive Illustrated Book for Pets issued by the Federation only recorded information of a few millions of types of Astral Pets, including many Astral Pets that had gone extinct.
Was it true that the goods generated by a system had to be the best of the best?
Su Ping's feeling of resentment disappeared in no time. While this reward was not the immediate strength enhancement he expected, it was a precious skill nonetheless.
Additionally, in the future, if he could go to another ancient site like the Thunder Cloud Realm, he would be able to identify those ancient Astral Pets with this skill. After all, most of those Astral Pets had disappeared from people's lives and there weren't many records of them in the Federal Illustrated Book.
Su Ping was choked up with emotions after having obtained a new skill and he was eager to test it. He looked around and suddenly remembered the Lightning Rat.
"Where is that little guy?"
Su Ping hurried to the pet room at the back. He saw that the Lightning Rat had fallen into a deep sleep in one of the ancient stalagmite arrays.
The three days of hellish training had worn the Lightning Rat out. It fell into a sound sleep as soon as it returned to this familiar place.
Compared with three days prior, not much had changed in the Lightning Rat's appearance. There were just a couple of more strains of dark purple hair mixed with the light purple strands and its body was leaner than before.
However, the faintly discernible gloomy and violent aura of a beast that was spreading out from the Lightning Rat was making the Moon Chasing Hound in the other stalagmite array shiver in fear; it was obviously unsettled.
Su Ping put his mind at ease after finding the Lightning Rat safe and sound. Although the contract had been ended and they could no longer exchange and communicate like before, he had become attached to this little guy after three days together.
It was a pity that it was someone else's Astral Pet. He would have to return it someday.
While Su Han was sighing, a prompt message suddenly popped out in his mind.
"Employ Pet Identification Spell. Yes or no?"
"Identify this little guy?"
Su Ping took a pause and selected yes.
Lighting Rat
Property: Astral Pet of the thunder family
Rank: Upper position of first grade
Combat Strength: 3.6
Aptitudes: Below average
Abilities Mastered: Lightning Speed, Thunder Flash, Thunder Shadow Image, Thunder Slash, Thunder Outerwear
Su Ping was surprised.
Thunder Flash?
He saw "Thunder Flash" in the abilities mastered!
Had the Lightning Rat learned this top-level special skill of the thunder family?
Su Ping was stunned. He didn't see the Lightning Rat employing the "Thunder Flash" for a second time in the battles later on. He had thought he was only having blurred visions. He didn't know that the Lighting Rat had indeed picked up this skill!
How astonishing it was that a Lightning Rat of the lowest rank that could be spotted everywhere in the Federation had mastered the "Thunder Flash" that not even an Astral Pet of the thunder family of the seventh or eighth grade could master easily! If he told people about this, they would think he had lost his mind!
"This little guy… is many times more valuable!"
Su Ping calmed himself down, although his eyes were still glowing.
A Lighting Rat that had mastered the "Thunder Flash" special skill would be even hundreds of times more valuable than its peers!
Not to mention the Lighting Rat had learned other skills.
Apart from the Lightning Speed that was common among all Lightning Rats, both the "Thunder Slash" and "Thunder Shadow Image" were a must for advanced Astral Pets.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call a Lightning Rat a mythical creature when it was equipped with so many powerful skills.
But there was something strange. In the column of aptitude, the Lightning Rat was rated "below average." Why?
Sensing the questions in Su Ping's mind, the system explained calmly, "The evaluation of its aptitude is based on the comparison of the data from all Lightning Rats born since the beginning of the endless chaos era to the present day. Host, you can trust the result."
"All Lightning Rats…"
Su Ping became speechless because of astonishment.
Even the number of Lightning Rats born in the Federation every year would be beyond calculation, not to mention if they were to start counting since the chaos era in the distant past.
If so…
This Lightning Rat could already be considered formidable with a below-average aptitude!
…
…
Su Yanjing looked up. She could already see the signage of that little pet store down the street—Pixie Pet Store.
In sharp contrast to the gaily shining sun, Su Yanjing's mood was cloudy and terrible.
She didn't expect that she would fall on evil days. She had been forced to a tight corner at the preliminary contest of the Pet Tournament.
This was an annual grand event of the academy. The students would display their strengths in this event. If someone could be favored by some Astral Pet masters during the tournament, they would be able to enjoy better tutoring and training. This could add brilliance in their resumes when the time came to join the Astral Pet Team!
However, for three rounds in a row, all she met were strong opponents that were highly popular. The result was that several Battle Pets she took such meticulous care of had all been wounded and could no longer fight.
Would she be stumped at the preliminary contest?
That was unacceptable to her!
She had already asked her family to spend a fortune to invite an advanced pet healer to cure one of the battle pets.
That being said, one battle pet was not enough. That was her ace in the hole.
She had to have a battle pet that could be the power forward and that could lure out her opponent's ace pet.
If it weren't for the fact that the academy prohibited any pets that were contracted within a month to enter the tournament, she would have bought some pets at the last minute, even though that would inflict a great burden on her mind and even cause severe problems.
Anyways, she had no other battle pets available, except for the Lightning Rat she had left at the store's pet boarding service.
A very common low-rank Lightning Rat.
Nothing special about it.
She even wanted to give it up because this Lightning Rat could no longer satisfy her requirements. Faced with the recent opponents, the Lightning Rat would be heading to its doom.
Fortunately, she was softhearted and did not remove the contract directly. So, currently, this Lightning Rat was the only other battle pet that could enter the field.
The Lightning Rat was weaker but she supposed it could be used to feel her opponents out.
"Anyone here?"
Su Yanying pushed the door open and entered the pet store. She threw a casual glance over the store. It was empty, as if the owner had moved.
"Is the store going out of business?" Su Yanying though. Fortunately, she had come in time.
"Yes?"
Su Ping heard the voice and left the pet room at once. He saw a pretty girl standing in the store, looking around.
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"Hi."
Su Ping stepped over. She was a customer, so he had to treat her nicely and politely.
"Hi, I'm here to pick up my Astral Pet." The store owner had come. Su Yanying turned her looks away from the empty store and said to Su Ping, "The Lightning Rat that I put here half a month ago. Is it doing okay?"
"The master of the Lightning Rat?" Su Ping was surprised.
The memories related to this matter were dug out.
Su Ping remembered at once. There was a strange look on his face. He couldn't help but throw more glances at this girl.
Was she the luckiest girl…
Su Ping felt uncomfortable since the Lightning Rat had to be returned to its original master. Part of the reason was that he had become attached to the Lightning Rat and the other part was because he felt unwilling…
After all, this was a super Lightning Rat that had mastered one of the 10 special skills!
How could he just give it up like this?
Well… he knew this little guy was someone else's in the first place.
Su Ping felt dispirited by this and could only heave a few sighs. "It is totally fine, better than fine. Come with me and settle the bills first," he said, lifelessly.
Su Yanying was at a loss. Why did this caretaker sound strange? Was he upset?
She seemed to have an idea. "Don't worry. I came ahead of time but I will pay you the foster fee as we discussed. I will pay you in full."
"Hmm…"
"??"
Su Ping was not in the mood to talk to her. He took out the bill for the deposit. When he saw the digits, he felt another surge of heartache.
He took a deep breath and tore the bill down slowly.
He acted as if a piece of flesh had been cut off from him and his voice was laden with a deep feeling of grief. "Minus the deposit you paid, you have to give another 108…" His voice was shaking and he was almost choking!
108…
Only 108!!
An Astral Pet that had learned one of the 10 special skills was going to be given away at an appallingly low price!
"Well…"
Su Yanying found that something was off about the owner but she could not put it in words. She settled the bill quickly. "Here you go. Can you show me to my Astral Pet?" She was dying to see the Lightning Rat, and to check if it was safe and sound.
After all, some pet stores would make mistakes when they were feeding the pets which could lead to sickness. While those events were rare, she could not see such unfortunate incidents happening to her at this critical juncture.
Su Ping heard the prompt tone of the money entering his account. His mouth twitched. Eventually, he stood up and turned around. "Wait here," he said.
He left the counter and stepped into the pet room slowly.
As he looked at the Lightning Rat that was napping in the stalagmite array, recalling the battles they fought side by side for the past three days, he felt reluctant to be parted with it.
"Come on. Time for you to go home." Su Ping sighed and picked up the Lightning Rat gently.
The Lightning Rat was startled and woke up. When it saw it was Su Ping, the Lightning Rat relaxed gradually and closed its eyes, falling back to sleep.
During the three days of desperate and cruel training, only when the Lightning Rat was with Su Ping could it feel secure enough to sleep.
This was a force of habit and trust!
Su Ping produced a forced smile. He took some deep breaths to calm himself down and then he stepped out of the pet room.
"My Lightning Rat."
Su Yanying's eyes glowed as she saw Su Ping coming out with the Lightning Rat in his arms.
She knew this was her Lightning Rat the moment she saw it. While the Lightning Rat's appearance seemed to be slightly different from before, the bond shared by flesh and blood that came from the contract could not be wrong.
However, she found something strange. When she first came into the pet store, she did not feel the presence of the Lightning Rat from their contract, as if something had blocked it.
She had no time to ponder about it. She hurried forward and took over the Lightning Rat from Su Ping's hands.
The Lightning Rat was startled again. The Lightning Rat's drowsy eyes glowed once it saw that it was Su Yanying. It threw itself into her arms happily and squeaked coquettishly nonstop.
Su Ping stood by their side. The happy sounds made by the Lightning Rat gave him the strange urge to strangle it to death.
"This punk… it only knows how to squeak coquettishly when its real master is here."
The Lightning Rat never did this with him.
But Su Ping was well aware that the emotional bond sustained by the contract would exert a great influence on the Astral Pets. That was why the majority of the Astral Pets would never betray their masters; they would even sacrifice their lives for them!
"Come on. Let's go home."
Inside, Su Yanying was glad that the Lightning Rat was still intact and was just a bit skinnier.
She had heard about how some unethical pet stores would cheat on pet food to make more money. She didn't want to look further into this.
Just as long as the Lightning Rat was healthy. Otherwise, to cure its illness would take a long time.
Su Yanying patted its head once she placed the Lightning Rat on the ground. She didn't even bother to look at Su Ping who was standing by her side. Inside, she had given a negative rate about this store. She would never come back again!
The Lightning Rat began to bounce around Su Yanying happily once on the ground. It was over the moon, since it had not seen its master in ages.
Su Yanying pushed the door open and left. Soon, the girl and the pet vanished from Su Ping's sight.
Su Ping looked away as the Lightning Rat bounced about and disappeared. He heaved a sigh.
Right then, the system suddenly sent a message—
"Detecting money entering the account. [Shop] opened…"
"Beep. Money has been converted into energy points."
Su Ping was stunned. Before he could check, he heard another message.
"Quest: [Chaos Spirit Pool for Incubation] is ready. The host must breed a pet that belongs to himself within a week."
"Reward for quest accomplished: a random skill book for battle pet warriors."
"Punishment for quest failed: downgrade the host's rate. When the rate is below the passing line, the host will be erased!"
A skill book for battle pet warriors?
Su Ping was confused. He wasn't a battle pet warrior at all, and the force of the original core did not exist in his cells.
"The host can purchase 'Awakening Potion' in the shop to be qualified as a battle pet warrior," the system alerted him.
Su Ping was amazed. Then, he gasped. Awakening Potion?
He was destined to be a common man from birth. Was it possible for him to change his life? Could he become a battle pet warrior?
Something had to be spelled out.
Innate skills were determined at birth!
Only a tiny minority could be the exception, those who could awaken their abilities later in their lives, but there wasn't even one in a million!
Of course, it was said that the state had developed some potions made from special plants found in space, and such potions could greatly increase the common people's chances of awakening.
Still, such potions were priced at a level that only the rich could afford. Anyone without millions upon millions would not even get a chance!
As for those vastly wealthy people, who would take the risk of becoming a battle pet warrior to struggle in the front lines at the frontier, apart from satisfying their curiosities for a moment?
"Where is the shop?"
Su Ping could not wait to see this "Awakening Potion." He was eager to acquire it. After all, whether in strength or survival abilities, there was a world of difference between battle pet warriors and the general public!
A simple case in point would be Su Ping and his sister Su Lingyue.
Ever since Su Lingyue joined the Academy for Astral Pets at the age of 12, Su Ping had never, not even once, gained the upper hand in close combat. He had always been defeated easily!
Therefore, over the years, he had learned to use his brain instead of brawn, unless necessary.
…
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Chapter 7: Three Services
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"The shop is in the host's sea of awareness. Think of it and it will appear," the system explained.
Su Ping began to think about the shop.
All of a sudden, a dark gray shop interface appeared in his mind, like the cabinet of a storage unit. Only three items could be found in there.
"Awakening Potion—100 energy points."
"Elementary beast catching ring—100 energy points."
"Low-rank Astral Pet food—10 energy points."
Information on all three items came up at the same time.
Su Ping did not hesitate to choose the "Awakening Potion" at once.
"Purchase failed. Insufficient energy," the system cautioned him.
"Energy?"
Su Ping was surprised. Only then did he notice the purchase requirement that followed the item description.
"The energy points are converted from the money made by the host. The exchange rate is 100:1. The current energy stored is, one point."
Su Ping was dumbfounded. He suddenly remembered something. He browsed through his transaction history.
-100!
As he expected, his account had 100 points less; they had been transferred to an unknown, unfamiliar account.
"This is to say, with 10,000, I can buy the Awakening Potion, right?" Instead of feeling frustrated, Su Ping was excited.
That was an utterly cheap price. After all, the Awakening Potion was something that could elevate a common person to an Astral Pet warrior in one go!
If he had to buy it in the federal outposts, the price alone would be astronomical, let alone the complicated channels he had to go through. Besides, the effect might be inferior to this one!
"Convert all the remaining currency in my account into energy," Su Ping said at once.
There were more than 20,000 in the balance of his account. Those had been transferred to him by his family for him to buy some Astral Pet offspring.
"Currency unrelated to store activity cannot be converted," the system said.
"What?"
Su Ping didn't understand. "Is there a difference between the money made in the store and the one made in other places?"
"No."
"Warning! Profanity alert!"
"…" Su Ping took a deep breath. He clenched his fist, "If so, why can't you convert money that comes from other channels?"
"The currency conversion module is set up to test the host's own development ability. This ability will be included in the final evaluation of the host in the system," the system explained.
"What final evaluation?" Su Ping raised his eyebrows.
"The host doesn't have enough authority to know."
"…"
Su Ping pushed down a certain urge and gradually loosened his fist.
He had to be humble while he was trapped in an inferior situation.
"Lucky for me, to make 10,000 in the pet store is not a difficult task. I just need some time. If I can train a pet like the Lightning Rat and sell it, I can make more than a million, let alone 10,000!" Su Ping said to himself.
"Given the host's current limits of authority, you can only rent pets, not sell them." The system doused him with cold water in a very timely manner.
Su Ping: "??"
He couldn't sell pets in a pet store?
"Warning! Second profanity alert!" The system sounded cold.
A painful memory surged in his mind. Su Ping quickly cut back the ideas that were swarming out endlessly on his mind.
He took a deep breath in, and out.
He had obtained the Zen spirit.
"Even if it's just renting, it's not difficult to make 10,000 every time I rent a pet as good as the Lightning Rat," Su Ping thought.
"All the services provided by the store shall be priced reasonably. The host doesn't have the right to adjust the price," the system came out again.
Su Ping was at a loss.
He had a bad feeling. "What are the prices like?"
"Currently, the store only has three kinds of services available: pet boarding, renting, and selling food."
"Since the host has not bought a nursing pen, the two existing nursing pens in the store are failed products, complimentary from the system. So, for each pet raised there, the price is 10 per hour."
"As for pet renting services, the prices will be set according to the rank, ability, and aptitude of the pet to be rented out. Since the host has yet to breed any pets, the prices cannot be estimated at the moment."
"As for the food, the host will have to go to the cultivation site to harvest food and the price will be set according to the quality of the food."
Su Ping was dumbfounded.
Only three services were available?
That was to say, no other mechanisms or services related to pets could be made available, right?
Things like the pets' apparel, toys, and other services such as hair trimming for pets were the real money-makers for a pet store… the main source of income!
It had to be known that pets could do more than battles. In their daily lives, most of the time, pets would do some shopping with their masters, as well as dine or watch TV together. Most battle pet warriors were willing to take care of their pets thoroughly. After all, the pets were the only ones that could accompany their masters when it came to life and death struggles!
"If I can only make money on pet boarding services, one hour is 10, then one nursing pen can generate 240 a day, two of the nursing pens will be 480 and I can make enough money in about a month…"
Su Ping did some math. The result was acceptable. One month would pass by easily.
That being said, the charge for the nursing pen was higher than the market price and it was an hourly rate.
Who would come out and put their pets in pet care for an hour?
"System, you just mentioned that the nursing pens were failed products and were complimentary. Are there other nursing pens that would charge even more?" Su Ping asked in his mind.
"Of course there are," the system answered at once, "10 energy points for one elementary nursing pen which has to be sustained by one point of energy per day. The host will have to pay for this."
"It has to be sustained by my energy?" Su Ping felt he had met a dark-minded merchant. "That is not effective permanently?"
"Of course not," the system replied, "The elementary nursing pens are made with spirit stones and the pets inside will be nurtured by pure anima that can improve the power of understanding and better the constitution of the pets. In that way, the pets can pick up powerful special skills more easily."
Su Ping was stunned. Was that so?
One had to know that other than using some special treasures, only advanced trainers could inspire the power of understanding in a pet.
But according to the system, one nursing pen had such an effect. That was practically to say that the pet could be looked after by an advanced trainer at all times…
"What is the price for this kind of elementary nursing pen?" Su Ping asked in a hurry.
"One hundred per hour." the system replied.
"…" Su Ping fell into silence.
In the market, averagely speaking, pet boarding would be charged at around 100 for 10 days unless the master had special requirements for extra services. Other than that, the price was pretty much the same everywhere.
Considering this, one hundred per hour would make 2400 per day.
That would be 24,000 for 10 days!
The price was 24 times as high as that of other pet stores!
"System," Su Ping said all of a sudden.
"Yes?"
"Can you make the price… even higher?"
"…"
Eventually, the system turned down Su Ping's request in a cold-blooded fashion. He felt rather disappointed.
The price was high, even unimaginably queer. However, as far as Su Ping could tell, such elementary nursing pens could present such benefits that even a price 10 times as higher would be reasonable!
"But, I cannot afford such an elementary nursing pen right now. Am I supposed to drag along by relying on the failed nursing pen?" Su Ping found himself in a predicament.
As for the food sales…
He would have to harvest it from the cultivation site first.
Su Ping couldn't help but feel his mouth twitch at the thought of the many deaths he experienced in three days in that cultivation site.
Life was too hard…
"Wait a minute. I've gone missing for three days. My family must be worried about me." This idea suddenly came to his mind and startled him.
"The host doesn't have to worry. The time flow in the cultivation site is different from here. Outside, only three hours have passed." The system sounded rather calm.
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Three hours?
That took Su Ping by surprise. He immediately opened up the computer nearby to check the time. The date shown on the computer was indeed the day he arrived at the store.
"Phew…" He breathed a sigh of relief.
That was good.
If he were gone missing for three days, his mom would lose her mind.
Of course, when it came to that sister of his, she might feel differently…
Su Ping shook his head. He focused his mind on the store. He remembered the pet incubation and breeding quest he had just collected. Promptly, he began to search the store.
Soon, he found a pond like a dried-up well in the lounge at the back of the store.
That probably was the "Chaos Spirit Pool for Incubation" the system had just added in the pet store.
"Am I supposed to do it here? What should I start the incubation with?"
Su Ping was curious. All of a sudden, the image of hens laying eggs came to mind. His expressions changed a bit. His at ease stance gradually changed to attention…
"The host is still within the beginner's protection month. Only 10 energy points are needed for one use of the 'Chaos Spirit Pool for Incubation'," the system added.
Su Ping was relieved.
As long as he could use energy points for this… That being said, using energy was no joking matter, either.
Ten energy points would be equal to 1000!
"Lucky for me, when I finish the mission, I can get a skill book for battle pet warriors, which is to say, I can buy a skill book with 1000. That is worthwhile."
Usually, a battle pet warrior had to master a skill to be enrolled into the Academy for Astral Pets. Such skills would have to take a long time, hard work and practice to master. That was not something that merely 1000 could buy.
"System, how can I make a quick buck?" Su Ping asked the system in his mind.
A moment later, the system gave a brief answer, "The host can earn energy quickly by selling food."
"Selling food?" Naturally, Su Ping still remembered this service. In an instant, his hair stood up and he was covered with goosebumps. "I need to harvest food at cultivation sites. This cultivation site would not be some place like the Thunder Cloud Realm, would it?"
He didn't wish to harvest food in some places where he would be threatened by a growing crisis. He had had enough of a brush with death!
He would probably not mind an instant death. What he was most afraid of was to be bitten to death, one bite after another, slowly. That would be the most horrifying way to go!
The system answered, "The Thunder Cloud Realm is not the only cultivation site. It is just one among many, and it is an advanced one."
"Given the remaining energy the host has left, there is not enough to pay for a round of teleportation to the Thunder Cloud Realm. Host, please select a cultivation site within the allowed price range to go to…"
"Be aware. The more advanced the cultivation site is, the higher the possibility of harvesting precious food!"
"What?"
Su Ping sat up straight suddenly.
"Price? Energy?"
"Warning. Second profanity alert!"
Su Ping's facial expressions were twisted!
He had to pay to go to a cultivation site?
Was the system sure that it was a super pet system? Wasn't it a zillionaire system?!
Su Ping felt too ashamed. He didn't want to go moments before. However, a second later, he was told that he couldn't, even if he wanted to!
Besides, according to the system, he had lost a fortune!
During the previous days for the training mission, he did nothing other than focus his mind on the Lightning Rat. He had squandered away a perfect chance to harvest food for three days in an advanced cultivation site of the Thunder Cloud Realm!
If things were different, he would have returned with plenty of food for pets of the thunder family!
"System, I blame you…" Su Ping sounded full of complaints.
The system remained unaffected. "You didn't ask. Additionally, as a qualified host, you should have learned to search for everything related to pets."
"You!" Su Ping clenched his teeth.
"Third profanity alert. Punishment drawn at random. Extreme pain experience…" the system warned him.
Su Ping opened his eyes wide. "No…!"
"Ah, ah, oh, oh, ah…"
A long moment later and after a fit of fierce shouts.
Su Ping sat by the door of the pet store, listless. His looks indicated he had gone through vicissitudes.
Bang.
A coin was thrown to him.
Su Ping looked up and saw a man smiling warmly at him. He was wearing a business suit and his hair was split in the middle. Then, he could only see the back of the man after he turned around gracefully.
"…"
Su Ping picked up that coin silently.
He gazed at the coin, and gazed at it some more…
"System, can this money be converted into energy?" Su Ping asked all of a sudden.
The system: "…"
"No!"
Su Ping made an "oh" sound in a low voice. He slowly placed the coin in his pocket and stood up. He patted the dust off from his butt. Life was hard but it had to go on, right?
He went back to the store and Su Ping read the words "Window to Cultivation Planes" in his mind.
Soon, a windowed chart showed up in front of him. Many location names were written inside, and following each location was a digit that indicated the energy required.
Su Ping scrolled it down. He saw the word "Thunder Cloud Realm" and the energy was 1000.
One thousand energy points for one visit.
Su Ping curled his lips. Soon, calmness was restored.
He had become composed, Buddha-like.
Su Ping kept scrolling the page down. He came to elementary cultivation planes. The energy required to enter such places varied from one to 10.
"What?" All of a sudden, Su Ping saw a plane that was also named the "Thunder Cloud Realm," but it only required one energy point!
Did he read it correctly?
Su Ping checked more carefully. The number was correct. So, did the system make a mistake?
"This system doesn't make any errors," the system's voice came in time, "This is a fragment of the plane called Thunder Cloud Realm. The fragment is a part broken off from the Thunder Cloud Realm, maybe land from the corners of the realm, or ruins where there are no animals or plants. To go to such places would be risky. The host must be prudent."
"Fragment?" It was until then that Su Ping finally noticed the word "fragment" written in extremely small sizes.
He suddenly remembered what it said in the history books of the Federation. The Thunder Cloud Realm had broken up and vanished. Could it be that this fragment was from that incident?
Then…
The one he entered was a complete Thunder Cloud Realm?
But it had fallen into pieces, why would there be an intact Thunder Cloud Realm?
Su Ping had questions but he didn't obtain answers from the system. All of a sudden, he felt this system was unfathomably strong. He thought he'd better not mess up with the system in the future.
Su Ping browsed through the list and closed it. He did not choose to go in.
He was worn out.
Simply exhausted.
He had died over a hundred times in three days when he was at the Thunder Cloud Realm. That meant more than a mere digit. During almost half of the deaths, he was slowly tortured to the end of his life in the most excruciating way.
Although every time after he was brought back to life, his strength would be recovered. That fatigue in spirit was becoming increasingly overwhelming. That is why the Lighting Rat fell so deeply asleep as soon as they came back.
Su Ping closed the roller shutter door. The store dimmed down. Promptly, he lay on the desk and slept soundly.
…
…
Su Yanying had returned to the academy.
The large campus had large lawn areas. The green ratio was quite high. In the middle of a plaza in the distance, there were ponds and waterfalls so that some student's pets of the water family could enjoy themselves there.
But, at the moment, the pond was deadly tranquil. There wasn't a single pet there.
In a campus as large as an airport, there were foul souls scurrying about.
It was dead silent everywhere.
Su Yanying did not find this strange. Naturally, she knew where everyone had gone.
There was a huge stadium-like venue at the end of the plaza.
At the moment, the sounds of people cheering were coming out of this place. Even people standing at the gate of the academy could faintly hear that sound.
The afternoon match was still ongoing!
"Hurry up!" Su Yanying said to the Lighting Rat that was following her. Then, she sped up and pressed forward.
She had wasted too much time on her trip to the pet store. Luckily, her match was scheduled for later in the afternoon. It would start at around four.
That being said, if the competitors in the matches before hers were to fail too quickly, her match would be moved up.
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Chapter 9: Thunder Slash, Seventh Rank Skill of the Thunder Family! (1)
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Soon, Su Yanjing arrived at the Astral Pet combat stadium.
Su Yanying did not wear the academy uniform but the guard recognized her. He let her in before she presented her student card.
"Pyro Cut!"
"The Pyro Canine has used the Pyro Cut!"
"Such a shame that the Pyro Cut did not hit its target. The Fire Warmonster dodged the strike. Wait a minute. No! The Pyro Cut is turning around. Good heavens, the Pyro Cut is traveling back!!"
Su Yanying heard the judge shouting in excitement as soon as she stepped into the stadium. His voice could be heard throughout the entire venue; it was loud enough to wake the dead.
At the same time, people were thrilled and shouting on the spectator seats on the sides of the entrance corridor.
This was of no surprise to Su Yanjing who kept her calm. Such a view couldn't be more familiar to her.
She looked around and found the seats of her class.
Class Two, Grade Three.
She hurried over. Halfway through, she suddenly remembered that her pet Lightning Rat was still behind her…
That little guy… she had never brought it to such a grand event. Would it be scared by this magnificent scene with tens of thousands of people shouting their lungs out?
Su Yanjing turned around at once, only to find the Lightning Rat was still close behind her. When she stopped, it stopped as well and the Lightning Rat raised its head to look at her. She could see confusion in those small eyes that were only as big as a crack.
It was unaffected… Inside, Su Yanying felt she could breathe again. Pets weren't like the average wild animals. Pets had basic thinking and awareness abilities. A pet that was more timid would most likely be immobilized from fright in situations like this.
Time was pressing. She had just picked up the Lightning Rat. She didn't have time to train with it or give it some time to adjust.
Su Yanying was gladly surprised to see that the Lightning Rat was courageous and fearless.
"Ying Ying, where have you been? I couldn't find you anywhere. You frightened me there!"
Lan Lele, Su Yanying's friend, had spotted her as soon as she arrived at her class' seats. The former ran over at once.
"I went to pick up my Astral Pet," Su Yanying said as she followed Lan Lele to the seats of their class. Su Yanying threw a glance at the games and asked, "Which one is it now?"
"The fourth one. You're almost up, just after Ice Jiang finishes her match." Lan Lele pouted her lips to point at the back of someone with black hair in front of them. Both that person and Su Yanying were the center of attention in the class. Over time, due to the influence of such an environment, those two students had grown to be quite competitive.
Since Lan Lele was Su Yanying's friend, she naturally didn't have nice feelings about that student.
"Oh." Su Yanying nodded. She didn't mind this and kept her gaze on the matches.
Then, Lan Lele noticed the Lightning Rat that was eating the fruit peels on the ground near Su Yanying's food. "This is the Lightning Rat that you sent out for pet boarding, right? Is it starving? Why is it eating anything it can find?" Lan Lele sounded surprised.
Hearing her words, Su Yanying turned around. Her expression changed as she saw the Lighting Rat that was holding a piece of fruit peel, eating happily.
"Drop it. It's too dirty," said Su Yanying while she used the power of the contract to send across her instructions at the same time.
As a person with a morbid fear of getting dirty, she could never tolerate seeing her pets eating garbage on the ground.
In the meantime, this reminded her of that pet store!
"That vicious businessman!"
When the matches were over, she would go to the Association of Astral Pets to file a complaint against that store!
Sensing Su Yanying's orders, the Lightning Rat stopped, blinking its googly eyes.
Lan Lele took a look at the Lightning Rat. Something came to her mind. "Are you going to have it join you in this match?" She looked at Su Yanying, stunned.
"Of course." Su Yanying remained composed.
Lan Lele opened her beautiful eyes wide. "Have you lost your mind? This is the annual Pet Tournament. The pets that can join in the matches should be at the second rank or higher. Aren't you sending the Lightning Rat to its death by taking it with you?"
"The academy has rules that no casualties are allowed in the matches. The judge will call it off in time in case of potential danger," Su Yanying replied.
"Even so, say the Lightning Rat doesn't lose its life, but what would be the benefit of sending it in? This is just a pet at the intermediate stage of the first rank. Any pet out there can defeat it." Lan Lele was baffled.
"I know." Su Yanying was determined and resolute. "But, don't forget about the battle pet warrior special skill I mastered, third-rank strength augmentation!"
"The lower the rank of the pet, the better the effect of my strength augmentation will be. I should be able to boost the strength of the Lightning Rat to the intermediate stage of the second rank. With my skills and instructions, the Lightning Rat can fight other pets!"
Lan Lele, naturally knew about the capabilities of this friend of hers to a tee. "Didn't you say that you asked your family to get you an advanced healer to help you recover the strength of that 'Fanged Tiger'? Why don't you work with it instead?" said Lan Lele, still puzzled.
"Everyone else believes it was injured during the previous battles. It is my ace card now. I cannot expose it so quickly." Su Yanying lowered her voice.
Lan Lele finally understood. She heaved a sigh. "Speaking of which, you are so unlucky this time. You've met too many difficult opponents at the beginning of this tournament. Otherwise, you wouldn't be in such a predicament."
Su Yanying kept silent. She didn't offer a reply.
At the same time, this round of matches had just ended. The one that was using the Pyro Canine won. Both parties went off the stage.
In the meantime, the girl that was called "Ice Jiang" by Lan Lele stood up slowly. She was immediately on the receiving end of the passionate stares from the boys of their class, as well as some glares from some that were gnashing teeth in hatred.
"That girl sure is lucky. All her opponents are rookies!" Lan Lele said, resentfully.
Su Yanying frowned a bit. Still, she kept silent.
A few minutes later, the battle on the stage had finished. The girl that looked as cold as ice stepped off the stage slowly.
Su Yanying felt when that girl threw her a glance.
That glance spoke volumes, as if Ice Jiang was telling Su Yanying to not to let her down…
Hmm!
Su Yanying clenched her fist. She looked even calmer on the outside.
"Time to go," Su Yanying said this to Lan Lele and the Lightning Rat with her.
The Lightning Rat noticed that its master's mindset seemed to have been altered. The Lighting Rat stood up straight and a keen look flashed in that pair of small eyes.
And yet, nobody would throw a look at the eyes of an inferior Lighting Rat. Not a single person noticed that dangerous aura hidden within.
Along the aisle, Su Yanying walked to the stage in the middle of the venue. She made her way up, step by step.
The Lightning Rat jumped and hopped behind her.
She stood quietly in the spacious stadium, amid the looks thrown at her from all sides.
There was no trace of fear on this girl's face. In her eyes, there was pride and composure.
"Su Yanying from Class Two, Grade Three!"
The judge announced her name at once and continued in a thrilled tone, "Now, let's shift our attention to the screen and find out who will be Su Yanying's opponent!"
Everyone shifted their looks to the huge score screen hung above the ground. A string of images flashed past and then stopped in one.
"Sh*t!" Lan Lele's expression changed the moment she saw the image. It was Zhang Xiao from Class Seven, Grade Three. That was quite a formidable opponent. Zhang Xiao could be counted as one of the best in the class!
Su Yanying was surprised as well.
How bad her luck was. How come she had to compete against another tough opponent?
Soon, her opponent was also up on the stage.
That was a young man of about one meter and seventy-five in height, with black hair and a fierce glance, wearing a valuable wristwatch. This was a rare mix of a wild and refined young man.
"Su Yanying from Class two?" Zhang Xiao could not help but chuckle as he saw his opponent. "I must be in luck. I heard that all your pets have been injured during the previous battles. Tsk, tsk. Is the little rat there all that you've got now?"
Su Yanying's face was clouded and her heart was weighed down.
COMMENT
By the stage, the judge announced the commencement coldly, "Best two out of three. Each party can only send in three pets to participate. No malicious wounding is allowed. Now, begin!"
Zhang Xiao smiled. He reached out his hand and made a grasping gesture to mobilize the contract power. All of a sudden, the space in front of him began to twist slightly. Right after that, a figure that was burning in black flames landed on the ground.
"Second rank, power of the blast!" A faint white glow emitted from Zhang Xiao spanned around like a vortex on the four limbs of that figure surrounded by black flames. This skill was the most basic augmenting skill that a battle pet warrior should master.
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Chapter 10: Thunder Slash, Seventh Rank Skill of the Thunder Family! (2)
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"That is the Dragon Hound!"
"This is such a surprise. Zhang Xiao from Class Seven, Grade Three, has sent out Dragon Hound, a pet of the demon family that is incredibly hard to tame, right at the beginning of the match!"
"This is a pet that can reach the upper position of the third rank in adolescence. Now, Zhang Xiao is using it at the very beginning. Is Zhang Xiao trying to win the game with a 3:0 score?"
The commentator sounded surprised to see the pet that Zhang Xiao summoned from his contract space. It was somewhat mean to fight an inferior Lightning Rat with such a powerful battle pet.
"Dragon Hound!"
Su Yanying was taken aback. Not only was the Dragon Hound violent and cruel, but it was also said that Dragon Hounds shared bloodlines with the "Hell Dragon," a king beast. The Dragon Hound could release "Roar of Flames" which could carry the powers of dragon's howls; such skill could overwhelm pets of an inferior rank. The latter would be scared half dead before they even began to fight the Dragon Hound!
Was he trying to disgrace her by deliberately threatening her when he was well aware that she was using the Lightning Rat?
Su Yanying clenched her hands. She took a deep breath. So be it. She sent out the Lightning Rat just to feel out her opponent and to probe for his ace card.
The fact that her opponent was underestimating her meant that the Lightning Rat had half succeeded in its mission!
"Roar!!"
The cries of dragons suddenly came out.
The Dragon Hound that was nearly three meters tall, bigger than tigers and lions, let out an abrupt bellow, carrying a strong deterrent force. The roar lingered on in the entire venue!
Su Yanying's pupils contracted a bit. She felt that her heart was uncontrollably pounding fast. Not only could the roar of a Dragon Hound deter low-rank pets, it could also intimidate the more timid battle pet warriors.
After all, its enormous body with magical flames surging around could give out a strong visual pressure!
But Su Yanying was not a coward. Plus, she had confronted more powerful pets in her daily training, so she could deal with this pressure. She was ready to tell Lightning Rat to come back and send out her ace card, the "Fanged Tiger." All of a sudden, some electric arcs were generated with a "buzzing" sound!
The purple light produced by electricity appeared in her sight.
Su Yanying was astonished.
She lowered her head. The Lightning Rat that was by her foot had jumped to the center of the stage before she knew it. That small body stood in front of her, surrounded by electric arcs, as if wearing a suit made of lightning.
That little guy did not show any intention of escaping, even though it was facing the Dragon Hound. The Lightning Rat would have to hold its head up high just to look at it!
"It… is not afraid?" Su Yanying was startled.
The low-rank Lightning Rat was born to be a kind of pet that was more timid in nature. At the moment, such a pet was standing in front of her, showing its teeth at the Dragon Hound!
It was as if the Lightning Rat was defending something, protecting something!
"Come back!"
Two seconds later, Su Yanying suddenly came back to her senses. She shouted to the Lightning Rat at once.
"Yes?"
When Zhang Xiao he frowned when he saw that thing enveloped by electricity standing in front of the Dragon Hound. How come that little thing was not paralyzed from fright? His original plan was to bring shame to Su Yanying. It was a surprise that this little thing sabotaged his intentions.
"Kill it!" Zhang Xiao gave the instructions telepathically.
"Roar!!"
Ferocity was in the eyes of the Dragon Hound. Another sound was squeezed out from its mouth that was filled with horrifying fangs. The Dragon Hound felt its authority challenged since this little guy was not scared.
Flames were rolling around the Dragon Hound who had opened its mouth and it breathed out dragon flames. Those dark magical flames fluttered out like pythons. The flames swept across the stage, reaching the Lightning Rat in an instant.
Whoosh!
The Lightning Rat was enveloped by the passing of the magical flames.
Immediately, Su Yanying turned ghastly pale.
"Hmm." Zhang Xiao snorted.
Right at that moment, he noticed a faint purple glow from the corner of his eyes.
Surprised, he turned around, only to see a figure surrounded by lightning rushing toward them at an incredible speed!
It was traveling too fast!
All Zhang Xiao could see was a ball of lightning charging at him!
The Dragon Hound seemed to have sensed the danger. It turned around at once and breathed out a ball of magical flames.
Whoosh!
The ball of lightning made a turn rapidly and dodged the strike.
Then, another ball of magical flames was discharged.
Whoosh!
The Lightning Rat jumped up again and slipped away!
At that moment, people could finally have the visual. The thing in the ball of lightning was that low-rank Lightning Rat that should have been consumed by the dragon fire!
"How is that possible!"
Someone cried out in alarm.
"That's the Lightning Rat!" The moment the commentator saw it clearly, he found himself dumbstruck.
"Oh no. Use the flames to tear it apart!" Zhang Xiao shouted at one as he came back to his senses.
Having received the instructions from its master, the Dragon Hound showed its teeth. Flames with magical powers were attached to its body. The Dragon Hound's four limbs exerted great strength. Being facilitated by the second-rank power of the blast, the Dragon Hound's speed was accelerated. In an instant, the Dragon Hound had charged at the Lightning Rat that was dashing towards it!
Roar!
The Dragon Hound's white, sharp fangs were enough to instill fear. Those fangs could crack stones. It opened its mouth, ready to take a bite at the Lightning Rat.
The Lightning Rat did not flinch. A cold glare was bursting from its squinting rodent eyes. The lightning around its body quickly converged above its head.
The moment the Dragon Hound was about to lacerate the Lightning Rat, the lightning convergence was quickly coming to an end, taking the shape of a sharp sword from the compressed energy!
In the spectator seat, someone stood up. "Thunder Slash!!"
Buzzing, buzzing!
Lightning flashed and a gale was whooshing. That sword of lightning was hacked at the mouth filled with teeth that was about to swallow the Lightning Rat!
Crack!
It was as if the lightning were exploding. With the loud sound, the entire venue began to shake. That glaring lightning stung the eyes, just like the core of a planet that had blasted away!
When the lightning disappeared, the glaringly white light faded away from people's sights as well. Soon, everyone could see the stage again. For a moment, people were gasping in astonishment one after another.
In the large stage, at a corner, that huge Dragon Hound had fallen and it was twitching. Smoke was rising from its burnt body. Right next to it, was Zhang Xiao who had collapsed on the ground in fright; his face had turned pale.
Next to the Dragon Hound was a small guy that was still covered in lightning. It was stepping back to where it came from.
It was that Lightning Rat that caught no attention!
A short period of silence later, there was a burst of passionate cheers at the venue.
The battle was marvelous!
Who could have expected that a Dragon Hound of the demon family could have lost and to a common Lightning Rat no less!
But, as of this moment, nobody believed that this Lightning Rat was anything common.
Su Yanying felt she was a bit absent-minded while she looked at the Lightning Rat that was coming back to her. Did she win? Did the first rank Lightning Rat defeat the Dragon Hound?
As a student of the academy of Astral Pet, she felt all her accumulated knowledge had been disrupted.
…
…
"Guys, did you see that?"
On a row of seats by the stage, some people that appeared to be powerful were sitting there. The vice-president of the academy was at the end of this row.
Sitting in the middle of the row, a woman with red hair said, "Yes, that has to be 'Thunder Slash!" She was dressed in strange armor, and there was a long, slanting brown scar on her delicate and beautiful cheek, which was a frightening sight, but the eyes of those around her were still demonstrating their admiration of her.
"That is a seventh-rank skill of the thunder family. Well, well, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. It is such a surprise that this little Lightning Rat could learn a skill that not even the advanced pets can master." On her side, someone with a strong figure chuckled.
"That is such an admirable talent. If this little guy can evolve to a third-rank Thunderstorm Rat, I believe it can be a match for other pets at the fourth or fifth rank!"
"It is a pity that this is just a Lightning Rat of low rank. The effect of it using such an advanced skill of the thunder family is still limited. If it were other pets with more potential, then its value would be beyond imagination. Maybe even I would be interested in such a pet."
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Chapter 11: The Abnormal Lightning Rat
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"You're right. This is such a shame."
The others nodded as well, feeling sorry for such a fact.
This low-rank pet must have a strong comprehending power, to be able to master such a complicated and sophisticated advanced skill.
However, it was such a waste that such comprehending power was found in a mere Lightning Rat!
The Lightning Rat's descent was of a low kind. Even if it could evolve to a Thunderstorm Rat, it would only reach the third rank. The ceiling was not high enough. Even an incredible comprehending power would be of no use in such a case.
…
On the stage, the first round of this game had come to an end.
Su Yanying held the Lightning Rat that had thrown itself into her arms. She still found all this surreal. She would have never expected that she could win this first round of an otherwise fierce battle so easily. She had won without contributing at all, neither as the master of the Lightning Rat nor as a battle pet warrior.
A Lightning Rat helped her win in a breeze!
At this thought, her expression became twisted. She didn't know if she could smile or cry about it.
On the other side of the stage, Zhang Xiao had just come around. His face was as white as a sheet when he looked at the seriously wounded Dragon Hound that was lying nearby, seemingly at the last gasp.
He clenched his teeth as he used the contract power to make the Dragon Hound withdraw to the contract space. Then, he turned around to glare at Su Yanying coldly.
He had underestimated his enemy!
He felt vexed. He should have known better. There had to be a reason why his opponent would send out a Lightning Rat in a pet tournament that had the focus of the world's attention over it.
He didn't know that this Lightning Rat was such a rare kind.
He had never heard of a Lightning Rat that could learn the pet skill of the seventh rank, "Thunder Slash".
But, that was it!
His original plan was to win all three rounds and enjoy a glamourous victory but that was not possible anymore. As such, he had to put into full play his ability as a battle pet warrior. He couldn't make the same mistake twice!
"Stone Rhino!"
Again, Zhang Xiao mobilized his contract power. In front of him glowed a faint yellow light. Then, the stage under his feet trembled slightly. A pet in the shape of a rhino that was even larger than the Dragon Hound came out.
This Stone Rhino was covered with hard rocks. Besides, there were sharp edges like fish bones along its spine. Few pets could defeat the Stone Rhino in a face-to-face combat!
"That is a pet of the earth family!"
Su Yanying immediately noticed the type of pet. Her expression changed.
At the same time, the Lightning Rat that was in her arms seemed to have picked up some signals. All of a sudden, the Lightning Rat moved and struggled away from her hug. Then, it turned around and stood in front of her. The Lightning Rat put on a fierce look and thick lightning was surging all over its body!
"Lightning Rat…" Su Yanying was dumbstruck.
Whoosh!
Instantly, the Lightning Rat dashed out. It was charging toward the Stone Rhino proactively!
The audience gasped on their seats.
Even the judge and the commentator were taken aback. At the same time, they found this confusing. As the master of the Lightning Rat, didn't she know that pets of the earth family were arch-enemies of those of the thunder family? Why would she send out the Lightning Rat again?
"Hmm, courting death!"
Zhang Xiao sneered. "Smash it into pieces. Kill it!"
As he was giving the instructions, a starry glow appeared around him. With rapid speed, he released several astral skills with augmentation effects. "Second-rank strength augmentation, second-rank power of the blast, third-rank firmness augmentation…" Of those, the third one in particular, was the one he was adept at.
The reason for him to practice this "firmness augmentation" so diligently was so that he could cooperate with his Stone Rhino.
The Stone Rhino was strong and tough to begin with. If this quality was improved with "firmness augmentation," not even his Dragon Hound could leave a mark on the Stone Rhino, not to mention the Lightning Rat!
Several of the halos that indicated those augmentation effects flashed by under the Stone Rhino's feet. Then, those halos transformed into energy runes, circling the Stone Rhino and then immersing into its body. Although this process took little time, it did stir up exclamations in the venue.
The fact that he could cast three astral skills in a row so quickly and proficiently indicated that his ability had already surpassed that of many students present!
Moo!
The Stone Rhino let out a bellow in a low voice; then it exerted strength and pressed toward the Lightning Rat.
Across the Stone Rhino, Su Yanying was alerted once she saw Zhang Xiao casting those skills. She was about to add some to the Lightning Rat as well, but to her surprise, she noticed that the Lighting Rat had gone beyond the sphere of her energy transference.
Buzzing, buzzing!
The light generated by electricity came out again. The Lightning Rat was running toward the Stone Rhino.
The moment the two of them smashed into each other, the Lightning Rat was divided into two!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Two Lightning Rats ran past the Stone Rhino from both of its sides. At first look, people might think that the Lightning Rat was smashed into two different ones by the Stone Rhino!
"Thunder Shadow Illusion!"
At the leader's seat close to the stage, the ones that were enjoying the games with a casual attitude suddenly opened their eyes wide.
"How is that even possible!" That red-haired lady kept her red lips ajar. Disbelief was written all over her face.
She could accept the presence of the seventh rank "Thunder Slash" skill. Why could the pet use the "Thunder Shadow Illusion" of the same rank?!
A low-rank Lightning Rat had learned two advanced pet skills??
She wasn't the only one in disbelief. The ones next to her were stunned as well.
It was understandable if the Lightning Rat could learn one of such skills. After all, while coincidences didn't always happen, chances were they were going to encounter one.
However, could it be regarded as a coincidence when two advanced skills were used?
"Is there something wrong with my eyes?" That strong guy could not help but blink several times.
Another person next to him forced a smile. "It might have been an illusion if you were alone. But it couldn't be the case when all of us are watching. This Lighting Rat… is just too abnormal!"
"It has learned two advanced pet skills. This aptitude, this comprehending ability… not even those advanced pets of the thunder family could have done this, could they?"
"If I remember correctly, only that Skydoom Pterosaur of our old team leader can master those two skills. Right?"
After this thought, those people looked at each other. They could not utter a word.
An insignificant low-rank Lightning Rat had a comprehending ability on par with a Skydoom Pterosaur. How…?
On the stage.
The Lightning Rat that had cloned itself confused the Stone Rhino. The latter could not tell which one was real.
Even its master Zhang Xiao had become speechless due to his astonishment at the moment.
Zhang Xiao had heard of the advanced pet skill of the thunder family, Thunder Shadow Illusion, in the classes he had taken.
That being said, that was all theory. He didn't know how to solve it!
Whoosh!
While Zhang Xiao was still at a loss, a figure as fast as lightning was on its way to him.
The Lightning Rat was of no threat to the Stone Rhino but it would be dangerous to Zhang Xiao.
"No!"
Having figured out the Lightning Rat's intention, Zhang Xiao was greatly shaken. He called the Stone Rhino back to defend him through the contract but it was already too late.
"Astral Shield!"
In a hurry, Zhang Xiao mobilized the astral power within him to set up a transparent barrier that covered him up.
Pff!
The moment it was set up, the barrier was smashed.
Thunder Slash!
The Lightning Rat used the Thunder Slash once again. After the barrier was broken, the sharp edge made by compressed lightning did not stop and was coming toward Zhang Xiao!
Whoosh!
In the next second, Zhang Xiao disappeared all of a sudden.
He was in midair when he reappeared; he was being carried by an almost transparent bird. They landed on the ground slowly.
"Zhang Xiao lost the second round," the judge announced in a cold voice. That peculiar bird that was carrying Zhang Xiao turned around and flew toward the judge, gradually disappearing into thin air.
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The whole venue was in an uproar!
Zhang Xiao had lost two times in a row!
To make it worse, Zhang Xiao had sent out precious pets like the Dragon Hound and the Stone Rhino. One of them had the bloodline of a king beast and the other was a pet that was antagonistic to the Lightning Rat. For the second pet, it would reach the fourth rank once it grew into adulthood!
Two pets like this had both been defeated by a cheap, low-rank Lightning Rat!
"Is that a pet skill of the thunder family, Thunder Shadow Illusion?"
"Good heavens, how can a Lightning Rat use such an advanced pet skill?"
"That is simply horrifying. That is the king of rats!"
Many students present had recognized the "Thunder Shadow Illusion." They discussed heatedly in shock.
"I won again…"
Su Yanying felt she was dreaming as she looked at the Lightning Rat which was bouncing back to her. None of it seemed real.
"Sh*t!!"
Zhang Xiao was embarrassed by the shouts of surprise that came from around the venue.
He could blame his carelessness and underestimation for losing the first round. However, he had to admit inferiority since, for the second game, he sent out the Stone Rhino but failed again.
A mere Lightning Rat had defeated him. How shameful that was!
"If it weren't for the fact that the Starry Hiero Beast is still in cultivation and I cannot bring it here, I wouldn't have allowed the match end like this!" A cold and vicious glare filled Zhang Xiao's eyes; he directed his ill intent to Su Yanying who was in the distance. He couldn't stomach the fact that she had humiliated him!
"Next, please send out your pets for the third match," The judge said loudly. Then, he looked at the Lightning Rat in Su Yanying's arms. This little guy was amazing. It was so talented that it would incur jealousy. Without any surprises, the Lightning Rat was capable enough to defeat all the other low-rank pets with the two advanced pet skills.
"Hmm!" Zhang Xiao snorted coldly. He turned around and went off the stage without the third pet.
He admitted defeat.
He had another pet that was more powerful than the Dragon Hound; that pet was his ace card for the preliminary matches, but it wasn't much different from the Dragon Hound.
Besides, he still had to find a strategy to counter the "Thunder Shadow Illusion" constructed by the Lightning Rat. To fight the Lightning Rat recklessly with no regard for the consequences would lead to a lose-lose situation.
He had many more opponents to compete with. Losing this one point would not hinder him from passing the preliminary match. He didn't need to reveal all his cards which would only expose all his abilities to others.
With the departure of Zhang Xiao, a great deal of cheering broke out at once.
Except that there was some booing amid the cheers.
Nobody could have thought that they would cheer for a low-rank, cheap Lightning Rat at a grand and serious event like this. While surprised, they found this turn of events hilarious.
"I won…"
Su Yanying stood there, absent-minded, and watched as Zhang Xiao left the stage. The passionate cheers were telling her that everything was real.
She…
She didn't do anything and still she had won.
The Lightning Rat that was lying in her arms; to think she had once considered removing the contract that had brought her such an effortless victory.
"Thunder Slash, Thunder Shadow Illusion…" Su Yanying looked at the Lightning Rat that was nuzzled up in her arms. This was strange. Surprisingly, the pet skills that were so intimidatingly powerful could be found in a Lightning Rat.
Why didn't she know that it was so talented in combat before?
She just left it for a month at the store and it came back a different person. No, a different rat.
The thought of pet boarding reminded Su Yanying of something. The confusion in her eyes was fading away. She wondered if everything was related to that pet store she went to.
But, that was just a normal pet store. This was unlikely.
…
"Such an eye-opening day!"
"Right. We have just witnessed a magical fight."
In the leaders' seats, some powerful people were still amazed after the battle had come to an end. They were smiling brilliantly.
"I've heard some stories. People say that some low-rank pets are incredibly talented and can learn rare pet skills, and even have the ability to defeat more advanced pets. I had always doubted that. But it seems like it's possible…" the strong-built person exclaimed.
The red-haired lady nodded in agreement. "For a Lightning Rat to have two advanced pet skills is far from a coincidence. It must be due to its master's training. All I can say is that its master is a genius!"
"That girl over there? Well, well, interesting. She is so confident that she didn't apply any of the most basic augmentation effects to the Lightning Rat. It seems that we have yet to have a full understanding of what the Lightning Rat is capable of."
"Ha, ha, you are reading too much into it. But, it's not an easy task to train a low-rank Lightning Rat to this level. I am curious. If she has such abilities, why wouldn't she train other, more advanced Astral Pets? Is it possible that there is some special reason for it?"
"Vice Principal Dong, this girl deserves our attention."
"Of course. I will never pass up on a talent like her!"
…
…
It was getting late.
At the Pixie Pet Store on Taohuaxi Street.
It was already dark outside by the time Su Ping woke up. He had slept straight into the night.
He got up and turned on the light. The incandescent light was kind of offending to the eyes. Su Ping placed his hand in front of his eyes and squinted to get used to the light. Then, he heard his stomach growling.
Only then did he remember he hadn't had lunch yet.
But, other than the starving belly, Su Ping felt he was refreshed, hale and hearty.
He looked at the time. It was after ten and this was when he usually closed the store.
Of course, the other pet stores weren't like this. Some stores would even stay open all night and two groups of people would have to take shifts. However, those were the stores that had a healthy business. Besides, the old Su Ping was unwilling to stay in this little store. He couldn't wait to pack up early so that he could go back home and play games in his cozy nest.
And yet, this Su Ping was the newcomer. Naturally, he couldn't violate the original owner's rules. Besides, he was indeed hungry.
He found the keys, turned off the lights, and locked up in one smooth action.
He rode the bike and headed north.
Half an hour later, Su Ping arrived home.
"I am back."
His mother Li Qingru was sitting in the living room watching TV. She turned the volume down as soon as she saw Su Ping coming in and changing his shoes. "How was the business in the store today?" she turned around and asked him.
Su Ping observed her expression; she was concerned about the store.
"It was fine…" Su Ping gave a vague answer. He couldn't tell her that he had slept through the afternoon.
Afraid that he would feel upset, Li Qingru comforted him and gave him some advice, "Take your time and don't give up. As long as you take good care of every pet, the good ratings will increase and so will the business."
When Su Ping changed his shoes and stepped into the living room, she stood up and asked, "You must be hungry. I'm going to heat some dishes for you. Or, do you want to eat with your sister when she comes back?"
"She hasn't come back yet?" Su Ping was surprised.
Usually, Su Lingyue would have already finished her dinner at home by this time. Why hadn't she returned yet?
"Don't you remember? Your sister's academy is hosting a tournament today. She will be back later," Li Qingru said, grumpily. She knew about the relationship between this pair of siblings. She found it annoying, although she couldn't do anything about it.
They were too old to always listen to her.
"Right…"
Su Ping didn't seem to be interested. "I'm hungry. I'll start without her," he said.
While he wanted to reconcile with his sister, he was unwilling to simply head on to bouts of suffering. He was starving and had to eat first. What was more, even if he wanted to wait for his sister to come back and eat with her, she might not appreciate the kindness.
"Mom, I'm back."
Unexpectedly, the door was opened just as Su Ping uttered the last syllable. Su Lingyue stepped in. She glared at Su Ping since she heard his last sentence.
After she changed her shoes, she walked directly to the living room. She rolled her eyes when she saw Su Ping standing in the corridor. "Move out of my way!"
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Chapter 13: Low
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Su Ping was in no mood to engage in verbal contending with her. He hung up his coat, then he went to the sofa in the living room and poured himself a glass of water.
"Hmm."
He had just filled the glass when a delicate hand with porcelain skin reached over and took over the glass. She drained the cup with one gulp. Who could it be other than Su Lingyue?
Her raised eyebrows which expressed "do you have a problem with that?" when Su Ping landed his gaze on her.
Su Ping cast a glance to the Phantom Flame Beast who was crouching on her shoulder. That pet harbored no good intentions. Su Ping felt he had to be the bigger man to live his life. Therefore, he decided not to hold the grudge against her. He just took another glass and poured himself some water.
Su Lingyue snorted. She threw herself into the other side of the sofa and stretched to feel comfortable. "Someone is getting smarter today. Good, the stupid guy can be taught."
Su Ping paid no heed to her words. He was measuring the Phantom Flame Beast lying in her arms with his eyes.
Soon after, information appeared in his mind:
Phantom Flame Beast
Property: pet of the demon family
Rank: upper position of the third rank
Combat Strength: 4.6
Aptitude: low
Abilities Mastered: Phantom Flame Strike, Hellish Breath of Fire, Mental Fire Thaumaturgy, Spiritual Impalement, and Roar of Phantoms
Su Ping raised his eyebrows as he finished reading.
Aptitude, low?
That was not good at all…
The Lightning Rat he trained could be rated as below average. This Phantom Flame Beast was really bad…
Noticing Su Ping's stares, Su Lingyue glared at him. "What are you looking at with those obscene eyes of yours? My Snowball is an excellent Phantom Flame Beast. It is second to none among pets of the same rank. Hmm, there is no telling who can win even if Snowball meets a fourth rank pet."
"OK."
Su Ping did not express an opinion.
This Phantom Flame Beast currently was at the upper position of the third rank but its combat strength was rated 4.6. According to the interpretation made by the system, in reality, Snowball's actual combat strength had reached the intermediate position of the fourth rank!
Indeed, it was remarkable that Snowball could compete against those in a higher rank.
But, that was it.
The Lightning Rat he trained had its combat strength rated at 3.6 when it was only at the upper position of the first rank!
He supposed that the Lightning Rat would be able to demonstrate abilities of the fifth or sixth rank when it reached the third rank. That aptitude should be deemed outstanding!
Yet, even such a genius Lightning Rat could only be rated as below the average by the system.
As far as Su Ping could tell, there was a long journey of progress laid before this Phantom Flame Beast. He wasn't expecting that this Snowball could become alarmingly strong, but, maybe, it would be just average.
"What? What are you laughing at?" Su Lingyue frowned and pulled a long face.
Su Ping was speechless. "What, I can't even laugh now?"
"But that is a cold laugh."
"…"
"All right, all right. What are you two fighting about now? Come on and eat." Li Qingru came over with the heated dishes and said to the siblings, "Time for dinner. Don't watch TV now."
Su Ping did not want to badger Su Lingyue at the moment. He got up to wash his hands for dinner.
The dinner was sumptuous, with fish soup, stewed pork with brown sauce, fried pork with hard bean curd, and some other vegetables. This feast provoked Su Ping's appetite. He washed his hands and took his seat to dig in.
Su Lingyue came to the dining table with Snowball in her arms as well.
Li Qingru filled Su Lingyue's bowl with rice and sat down. "How was the match today? Did you pass?" Li Qingru asked.
Su Lingyue picked up her chopsticks. The corner of her mouth was raised while she kept a straight face, "Today was just for preliminary rounds, which is of no trouble to me. Besides, all my opponents are just some new students in my class. It wasn't much of a challenge. It took me just one morning to collect all the points to be qualified for the next round. It is just a pity that…"
"What is a pity?" Li Qingru became concerned.
"It's just a pity that I cannot compete against the seniors in the third grade. Otherwise, I could have a chance to join in the finals." Su Lingyue appeared to be sorry for this fact.
"Eh-hem!" Su Ping almost choked. He began to cough violently.
Su Lingyue looked at him through the corner of her eyes. "No one is taking food away from you. Aren't you afraid of choking to death by eating so fast?"
Su Ping finally recovered after he took a few sips of the fish soup. He didn't give her a response and simply focused on his meal.
Li Qingru set her mind at ease after Su Lingyue's explanation. "Look at you. You have just entered this academy of Astral Pets. It's not an easy task to stand out amongst the new students. Don't compete against the seniors or you will be worn out," the former said, sulkily.
"Sure, mom, you're right." Su Lingyue nodded at once. Her smiling eyes curled like a crescent moon.
Su Ping coughed again.
Su Lingyue threw him a look that could kill people.
Su Ping could tell that a gaze that was growing in sharpness was fixed on him without even having to look up…
"You must be tired. Eat all you want." Li Qingru picked up some pork to put in Su Lingyue's bowl.
"Sure. You too, mom," Su Lingyue answered with a giggle.
Su Ping was quick to finish the first bowl of rice and he filled it again.
Su Lingyue suddenly remembered something that made her exclaim, "Anyways, there was something strange at the tournament today. I don't think you'll believe me when I tell you."
Li Qingru was surprised. "What is it?" she asked with curiosity.
"There is a girl, a senior, and she seems to be one of the students always in the spotlight at the academy. But she only used one Lightning Rat in today's matches. We all thought that she was losing her mind. Only, you know what? Her Lightning Rat won two games in a row and it defeated a Dragon Hound and a Stone Rhino!" Su Lingyue's eyes were shining as she shared the news. She was excited.
"Lightning Rat?" The name caught Su Ping's attention.
Li Qingru was astonished as well. "The Lightning Rat defeated a Dragon Hound and a Stone Rhino? Are you sure? Was it a Thunderstorm Rat? Alas, no, not even a Thunderstorm Rat could have…"
As a formal trainer, Li Qingru was familiar with pets. She could tell such an occurrence would be impossible!
Sensing that Li Qingru was doubtful, Su Lingyue decided not to keep them guessing. She went on with a smile, "Don't be freaked out when I tell you that this Lightning Rat has mastered two advanced skills, a seventh-rank 'Thunder Slash' and the 'Thunder Shadow Illusion'! Relying on the two skills, the Lightning Rat defeated the Dragon Hound easily and crushed the Stone Rhino who failed to protect its master!"
Su Ping was stunned.
"Thunder Slash?
"Thunder Shadow Illusion?
"Was this the Lightning Rat I trained?
"Could it be…"
All of a sudden, Su Ping remembered the look of the master of that Lightning Rat. She was young, about the same age as Su Lingyue. That was to say, that girl was very likely to be a student.
More importantly, Su Ping didn't think there could be another Lightning Rat that was so horrifying, also able to master the same skills the one he trained did.
"Such a small world…"
Su Ping mumbled to himself and produced a fake smile.
He would have never imagined that the master of that little guy was going to the same academy as Su Lingyue.
"Two advanced skills?" Li Qingru was taken aback. "What a talented Lightning Rat!"
"Right, everyone was astonished." Su Lingyue had the same feeling. "Its master is a genius. There are few people that I, Su Lingyue, admire. Now that senior girl can be counted as one of them."
Su Ping stopped his mind from wandering around and glanced at her. He was thinking, "If you only knew your brother did this, would you still treat me the same?"
But that was only on his mind. His sister would not believe him even if he told her the truth. Rather, she would laugh at him.
After dinner, Su Ping and Su Lingyue went their separate ways.
Su Ping headed upstairs after his shower. He had thought that he would have more energy to burn off after his afternoon nap. However, he was assaulted by drowsiness as soon as he lay down. Soon, it was dream time for him.
The next morning.
Su Ping saw a ghost face in front of him as soon as he woke up. Having become prepared due to the last day's fright, he was only shocked for an instant before he caught his breath. He glared at Su Lingyue, who was sneering outside the door, and got up to go downstairs.
After breakfast, Su Ping and Su Lingyue left respectively, one for the academy and the other for the store.
Su Ping felt invigorated and recharged after a night's rest. He had decided to harvest food that day, so that he could gain more energy as soon as possible!
At the store, Su Ping first fed the Managarm and then he closed the door. He summoned a cultivation plane window in his mind.
Soon, the window appeared.
Su Ping selected a plane that only required one point of energy to teleport and chose to enter.
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A series of system prompt messages sprang to his mind.
"The host has established connection to the 'Extraterrestrial Meteorite Region 1002'."
"Connection valid for 24 hours…"
"Within the month valid for beginner's protection, the host will be given 30 free deaths!"
"The host has been granted a beginner's space, one cubic meter."
"The host can use elementary 'Aeon Plant Identification Spell' three times…"
"Please head out on your own…"
Su Ping opened his eyes at once. Before him was a bleak mountain forest with no signs of civilization. He could look directly into the vast space with countless stars above his head.
Su Ping took a quick look around. He exhaled in relief after making sure that there were no monsters of any kind. Then, he asked the system in his mind, "I heard you say 30 free deaths. Shouldn't it be unlimited times?"
"Of course not," The system answered indifferently, "The benefit of unlimited times is exclusive to the beginner's quest. Currently, the host has finished that quest and therefore is no longer eligible for that benefit!"
"Also, after the beginner's protection for one month, the host will no longer be granted free deaths. Therefore, the host must improve his abilities as soon as possible, or else it will be difficult for the host to move a single step in the future!"
Su Ping was stunned. He found this hardly understandable. "So, according to you, what will happen to me when I can no longer enjoy free deaths? Will I just drop dead, literally?"
He didn't have the confidence to say that he would never die, not even once, in a horrifying place like the Thunder Cloud Realm!
"The host can purchase chances for deaths with energy points and the price is one tenth of the price of that corresponding cultivation plane. When the times of available deaths return to zero, the host will be forcefully teleported back to the main world," the system explained.
"They can be purchased?" Secretly, Su Ping sighed in relief with this new information. That would be reasonable.
Roar!
All of a sudden, a violent roar came from the distance, just like a sudden clap of thunder.
Caught off guard, Su Ping bent over. Then he saw that across the sky on the horizon, the clouds and mist were dyed red as if something were burning. It seemed that a fierce battle had broken out under that sky!
"My God, the roar was so loud. Not even a king of beasts could be this loud…" Su Ping's heart was pounding. Without hesitation, he turned around and soon ran to the other side of the forest.
He ran for a few hundred meters.
Bang!
A shrill cry was suddenly heard. Su Ping only had enough time to turn his head. In his sight, there appeared a ferocious mouth moving in closer.
He blacked out.
Su Ping knew that he had died before he could experience the pain.
To make it worse, he didn't even have the chance to see what killed him.
There was something he was sure of, though. His body must have been eaten up by that thing.
"Does a cultivation plane that costs one energy point have to be this terrifying? What the hell…" Su Ping had nothing else to say. How long had he been in here? He died an unnatural death without doing anything. This was such a sudden death!
"I am too vulnerable…"
Su Ping felt worn out already. He was just a common person. Some monsters that were skilled in hiding could be concealed in the dark. There was no way that he could have noticed them. Maybe he would be just sending himself to the mouth of those monsters…
He saw a prompt message. "Revival on the spot/revival at a random spot?"
Su Ping rolled his eyes. He didn't even know his own actual state after death. He had no tangible body but with a force of habit, he chose "revival at a random spot."
White, glaring light flooded over from all sides. He had a better sight after that jump.
Soon, he could see his surroundings. This time, he found himself on a desolate hillside with sparse weeds. There were no monsters around.
"Wait a minute. Is that…?"
All of a sudden, Su Ping saw a pile of rocks trembling in the distance. Upon a closer look, he felt his whole body break out with gooseflesh.
That was no pile of rocks. It was a python that had a body built with rocks!
Winding Stone Snake
Property: pet of the earth family
Rank: the lower position of the eighth rank
Combat Strength: 8.1
Aptitude: poor
Abilities Mastered: Entangle, Swallow, Mine Burst, and Earth Guardian.
While Su Ping was gazing into the distance, information about this python suddenly jumped to mind. Su Ping's pupils contracted as he saw the rank. This was a pet of the eighth rank!
But, this eighth-rank Winding Stone Snake had a poor aptitude. Su Ping had not seen anything like this before. This python had to be one of the weaker amongst its peers with a combat strength of hardly above eight.
"Run!"
Su Ping turned around and prepared to run away at once. He kept on mumbling, "It cannot see me."
The moment he turned around, he cast a glance through the corners of his eyes. He stopped on the spot at once.
"Scarlet Stone Fruit?"
Four or five meters ahead of him, there was a plant growing out from the stone cracks. It was a small tree that was about half a meter tall with a cluster of fire red fruits which were shaped like raindrops. Those fruits were the size of beans and they were dangling in the wind.
It was as if he had known about this plant since a long time ago. Much information about this plant surged in his mind, including the functions and growth cycles, etc.
What interested Su Ping enough to stop was the fact that this was the Vermilion Bird's favorite food!
"Pet food?" Su Ping was lost in his thoughts. He didn't know that he could find pet food right there under his nose. He had to thank the "Aeon Plant Identification Spell" the system had granted him temporarily. Because of this, such knowledge would prevent him from missing out.
That being said…
The expressions on Su Ping's face changed as he looked at the wiggling Winding Stone Snake in the distance.
After a mere moment of hesitation, Su Ping had made up his mind. He dashed out from behind the rock all of a sudden and ran toward that "Scarlet Stone Fruit," throwing caution to the wind.
He picked up the Scarlet Stone Fruit plant violently. However, its roots were quite firmly set. Since he had overexerted his strength, some of the thorns stabbed his palm, inflicting a dull pain.
"Collect into the storage space. Yes or no?" the system queried.
"Yes!"
Su Ping answered without further thought.
The Scarlet Stone Fruit plant vanished from his hand instantly. At the same time, in his mind, he felt there was an addition of a virtual space with a small area and the Scarlet Stone Fruit plant was floating around inside.
"Is this the storage space?" Su Ping took a look and heaved a sigh of relief.
Hiss, hiss!
Unexpectedly, the ground around him began to tremble.
Su Ping raised his head. In the distance, the Winding Stone Snake had lifted its head as well and was staring at Su Ping.
"Run!"
Without further ado, Su Ping turned around and began to run at once, even though he knew the chances of him escaping were very low.
More than a dozen seconds passed.
"Revival on the spot/revival at a random spot?"
The system presented him with the choices again. It went without saying that Su Ping didn't make it. He was swallowed by the smelly mouth of this Winding Stone Snake and was squeezed to death.
He even felt the pain was surreal when he was falling apart.
Su Ping grimaced in pain. Even to this moment, he was still shivering uncontrollably, as if he had been running nude in the chilly wind.
"Well, that wasn't entirely fruitless…" Su Ping felt comforted that at the very least, he had harvested some food. It was painful but whose life wasn't?
"I have 28 more chances left. If I can harvest some food right before I die every time, I believe I can probably fill up half of the storage space…" Su Ping thought to himself. He was looking forward to the rest of the journey.
Su Ping made his choice. "Revival at a random spot."
Consciousness came back to his body again. But as soon as he was brought back to life, he felt a bone piercing coldness. He looked around, only to see that he was floating in water.
"What random spot is this?" Su Ping was astonished. He turned around. Some monsters that looked like crocodiles were closing in slowly.
"I…"
Su Ping was given no chances to struggle. In the blink of an eye, the crocodiles sprang at him and tore him into pieces.
"Revival on the spot/revival at a random spot?"
"…Random."
"Random."
"Random…"
Repeated deaths and repeated revivals.
Sometimes, he would be killed right after he was brought back to life. Sometimes, he would only encounter monsters after he had harvested special pet food.
Soon, the 30 free revival chances were used up.
"Phew…"
Su Ping felt he had been gone for ages when the light came back to his sight and the familiar environment of the store leaped to his eyes. On one hand, he could put his mind at ease. On the other, he felt sorry for that to end.
"I believe this was a rewarding harvest." Su Ping looked at the pet food filling up the storage space in his mind. He was content. In terms of quantity alone, it was very abundant. But he didn't know how the system would price them.
"Are you going to set a price on the pet food and sell them?" The system asked.
"Yes."
Su Ping answered immediately.
Soon, the pet food in the storage space vanished into thin air. Then, Su Ping saw there were some jars and containers on the shelf behind the counter in the store, or something that appeared to be a potted landscape. With no exception, all of them were packed with the pet food that he had harvested at the risk of his life.
"Scorching Fish Seeker, 380 coins per plant."
"Fire and Ice Snakegrass, 800 coins per plant."
"Scarlet Stone Fruit, 130 coins per fruit."
…
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Chapter 15: A Price of 20,000
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"This price…"
Su Ping was surprised at the price marked.
Each of those edibles could be sold at over a hundred coins, and that would be at least one point of energy if converted.
Many of them could be sold at three or four hundred, or even seven to eight hundred, which could be converted into many energy points!
To make it better, it merely cost him one point of energy to teleport to a cultivation plane.
At this rate, the revenue generated from this one trip was over a hundred times more than the cost!
That being said…
Su Ping felt that such matters weren't all that pleasing once he recalled the 30 times he died.
Besides, the fact that he could make this much money was attributable to the fact that the cultivation plane he chose was of a surprisingly high-quality and at the same time, to the free chances of revival provided by the system.
Without the 30 free deaths, he couldn't have had the chance to collect that much food.
"Anyways, all in all, to collect food in a cultivation plane is a very good deal. When I can no longer enjoy free deaths, I can buy them. It will only cost me three energy points for 30 deaths. There is no doubt I can make more money than that. It is just those deaths that are disgusting…"
Su Ping shook his head. He wasn't afraid of instant death. It was the slow torture that he was scared of.
"The price for Scarlet Stone Fruits is 130 coins per fruit. That plant I picked must have twenty-some or thirty-some fruits."
Su Ping remembered when he was harvesting the Scarlet Stone Fruit. He began to check the actual number. His assumption was right. There were 34 coins!
If he could sell them all, he could have at least 40 energy points!
Just the Scarlet Stone Fruit alone could generate massive profits.
"Well? The price for this one…"
All of a sudden, Su Ping saw another type of food that was floating in its lonesome on the side. It was like a strange-looking tree sapling, but with leaves of seven different colors.
"Colored Buddha Leaf, 20,820 coins per fruit…"
Su Ping thought he had read the number wrong. Upon a closer look, he was sure he read it correctly. How could it be over 20,000 coins?
Startled, Su Ping noticed the effect of this food. This wasn't the average pet food, but a type of herb that could be regarded as an intelligence enlightening treasure!
"It can help a pet develop its intelligence by a large margin, so that the pet's power of understanding can be greatly enhanced!"
The power of understanding was of critical importance to pets!
The pets that had the power of understanding could learn strong skills easily and comprehend their masters' instructions in battles.
Also, the progress and evolution of pets with the power of understanding would come much easier for them when compared to average pets!
In particular, in the same race, pets with a stronger power of understanding would usually be the rulers in their respective race. They could defeat others of the same race easily because of their better understanding of their powers, and their skills in battle were far superior!
In a nutshell, the power of understanding was something that could enable a pet to grow and become a ruler of its race!
Su Ping had a faint memory that he seemed to have harvested this thing next to a pond. It wasn't a risky journey. Rather, it was surprisingly easy. He didn't check it carefully back then. He just picked it up after confirming that it was food. He didn't expect that it would be the most precious among all the food he had harvested.
"That is over 20,000… and I can make two hundred energy points when I sell it?"
Su Ping did the math. He was over the moon. This Colored Buddha Leaf alone could solve the problem of him buying the "Awakening Potion" and he would have some extra money left!
"This trip was so worthwhile!" Su Ping was thrilled. All of a sudden, he felt some extra deaths would not be a problem.
Soon, Su Ping calmed himself down. He asked the system at once, "Is it possible that we have set the price too low? If it's used on an advanced pet, the effect produced would not be something that can be bought with merely 20,000 coins."
Su Ping was sure that if this plant could inspire an advanced pet to learn a rare ability, even adding another zero to the current price would be considered a cheap price. He had beginner's luck as the buff to help him stumble upon this plant. Usually, people could not find a place to buy it even if they wanted to!
"The host doesn't have the right to negotiate the price," The system replied coldly, "The Colored Buddha Leaf is not the best food to improve the power of understanding. This is just a usual kind of herb. At best, it can exert influence on ninth-rank pets. A price that can be converted to 300 energy points is reasonable!"
Su Ping almost flared up. "The effect is already incredible when the plant can influence ninth-rank pets. The ones above the ninth-rank pets are king beasts. There are few and far between in this entire continent. What more do you want?"
"There is no need to say more. To go on would incur pain experience as punishment!" The system went straight to the point without the slightest hesitation in a colder tone.
Su Ping indignant. The system was being unreasonable!
In the end, Su Ping had to compromise. He heaved sighs as he checked the remaining food. When he had the total price calculated, his mood turned for the better.
"Now, the food is ready. All I have to do is to sell them!"
Su Ping took a deep breath. He opened the roller shutter door to welcome in the sunlight.
He spent over half a day on the cultivation plane but only an hour had passed in the real world.
Su Ping went back to the store. He sat behind the counter to search for information on pets in the federal government resources on the computer, so that he could adjust to this world faster while he waited for customers to arrive.
Not long after, there came one.
"Sir, please give me a bag of food for a Conflagration Canine." A young man in leisurewear came in without looking up from his phone.
Su Ping turned his sights away from the computer. He searched on the shelf and finally found some food that a low-rank canine pet could eat. "Here you go. Three-leafed Flame Grass, just the food for the canine pet of the fire family. The price is 380," Su Ping said.
"Okay." The young man in leisurewear answered without thinking. He was just about to pay when he suddenly raised his head, shocked. "How much?"
"380." Su Ping frowned. "This food can increase the intensity of fire elements in pets of the fire family. With a long-term administration, there is a chance that the low-rank pet in the fire family can evolve into a more advanced pet," explained Su Ping.
"Intensity of the fire element? Evolution?" The young man in leisurewear raised his eyebrows. He looked at the counter behind Su Ping. The prices for those foods stunned him. When he saw the "Colored Buddha Leaf" at a price of over 20,000 coins, the young man said nothing and left right away.
"Sh*t. This must be an inn run by brigands. It's just some dog food and you're telling me about evolution. F*ck you…"
Su Ping watched as this young man left, interspersing his talk with curses. Su Ping pulled a long face. He was angry but he managed to suppress it eventually.
Judging by price alone, it might seem high. But that food had excellent quality and was reasonably priced. He didn't fool anyone. Rather, as far as he could tell, he was sacrificing part of the profit!
He started on the wrong foot, But Su Ping was not frustrated. As long as his goods were of high quality, they would be eventually sold. Gold is bound to shine!
"Hi, do you sell bird food?"
At noon, another customer came.
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Chapter 16: Money Made
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Su Ping looked up at him. It was an aged man wearing a Tang suit with a bird pet about half as large as a human.
This bird was covered with crimson feathers and it looked like an ostrich with its head dangling down. The bird seemed to be lifeless.
Su Ping was surprised the moment he saw this bird.
"Sir, do you have some unique bird food? Something tastier?" Fan Shangde looked at the seemingly young Su Ping who was behind the counter and stepped forward to talk to him.
"Tastier pet food?" Su Ping didn't expect this question. But Su Ping understood after he looked at the depressed bird. "Its appetite is not good recently, is it?"
Fang Shangde nodded. He sounded vexed. "It began to eat less a few days ago. I don't know why. I took it to the doctors but none of them found any results."
Su Ping said that he understood the problem. He turned around and took out a bottle of "Scarlet Stone Fruit.""I think it will like this," Su Ping proposed.
"Oh?" Seeing that Su Ping was confident, Fan Shangde picked up the Scarlet Stone Fruit and took a look. "What is this pet food? How come I've never heard of it?" Fan Shangde asked.
Su Ping didn't know how to explain the details. After all, he had no idea whether the cultivation planes the system sent him to were in the past or still in existence. Maybe this food was from ancient times.
Either way, he trusted the system's judgment.
"You can let it try the food," Su Ping added.
Fang Shangde had his fair share of bird food studies, and yet, he failed to recognize this type. On second thought, he believed Su Ping would not sell something that could harm a bird given this was an official store. He opened the lid and poured two grains out.
The moment he opened the lid, the upset fire bird suddenly flapped its feathers. Then, the bird looked up. The depressed and lazy looks in its eyes turned into a radiant glow. The bird was staring at the two Scarlet Stone Fruits in Fan Shangde's hand.
"What?" The bird's reaction took Fan Shangde off guard. He felt confident about the food. He lowered his hand and fed the fruits to the bird.
The fire bird pecked on his hand quickly and ate up the two fruits. As soon as it finished, the bird began to chirp happily. Its short wings were flapping quickly. Next, the bird turned its sight to the entire bottle of fruits placed on the counter, glaring at it with passionate anticipation.
Fan Shangde was stunned. This little guy had been suffering from a loss of appetite for days. It was a surprise that the bird could gobble down the food and it seemed to be wanting more.
Since the food was good, Fan Shangde had no more concerns. He asked Su Ping at once, "Sir, what kind of food is this? Give me several bottles, please."
Su Ping saw that the fire bird was licking its chops as if it was going to pounce on the food because it could no longer wait. Calmly, Su Ping grabbed the bottle and moved it back to his side. "This is the Scarlet Stone Fruit, the most favorite for Vermilion Birds. This is the only bottle available in the store. One fruit is 130 coins and we have 34 here. Do you want all of them?"
"Well, 130 coins for one bottle…" Fan Shangde felt this price was reasonable. He came to his senses in the next second. "For one fruit?"
Su Ping nodded. "For one fruit."
Fan Shangde was speechless. He looked into Su Ping's eyes; since he saw that Su Ping was serious and composed, Fan Shangde was sure that he wasn't hearing things.
At the same time, from the corner of his eye, Fan Shangde noticed the other products behind the counter. He was taken aback as he saw the prices. The food he had chosen was not the only pricey one. There were others even more expensive!
He then understood that Su Ping was not deliberately ripping him off.
"Is there anything special about the pet food here?" Fan Shangde restored his calmness soon and asked curiously.
Su Ping was surprised that this customer could stay this collected. "The food available has different effects, but the majority can help pets to improve their abilities. Some of the food varieties can produce extra effects. They are far from being mundane pet food. Your money will be well spent," Su Ping said honestly.
"They help pets improve their abilities?" Fan Shangde was intrigued. Pointing to the "Colored Buddha Leaf" with the highest price, he asked, "This price is over 20,000 coins. What can it do?"
"This one can enhance a pet's power of understanding," Su Ping answered.
"Improve the power of understanding?" Fan Shangde was dumbstruck. His eyes flickered but soon, he covered up his interest. "This Scarlet Stone Fruit… give me ten. I will come back if my pet likes it," Fan Shangde said.
Su Ping didn't see this coming. Was this man placing an order?
That was to say… he was making money, right?
Su Ping felt a surge of emotions as if he could see the energy points waving at him. On the outside, he remained calm. He did the calculation fast. "Ten fruits will be 1300 and your Vermilion Bird has eaten two, so that is 260 coins, which makes for a total of 1560 coins."
Fan Shangde nodded and transferred the money to Fan Shangde. "How long can the ten fruits last?" Fan Shangde asked.
Su Ping gave it some thought. "If you want it to be full… the ten won't not even be enough for one meal. But, if you want to save, you can mix the Scarlet Stone Fruit with other pet food. This way, those will be enough for 10 meals."
"Eh…" Fan Shangde didn't find this food pricey to begin with, but he realized it was expensive after considering Su Ping's suggestions.
He was not in want of money but when he thought about 1500 coins for one meal…
"Thank you, sir." Fan Shangde left the pet store after this gesture of appreciation. When he was about to step away, he turned around and took a look at the shop sign—Pixie Pet Store.
"…"
Having sent away the customer, Su Ping checked his account immediately. There was an addition of 1560 coins!
If converted, it would be 15.6 energy points!
For him to collect the pet breeding mission, it would only cost him 10 energy points and he could breed a pet. That was to say, he could already finish his mission!
"Lucky for me, the cultivation plane I chose was not desolate. It would have been a bad start if I had chosen a barren world…" Su Ping felt fortunate.
…
…
Azure Bay Garden.
This was a neighborhood that seemed quite ordinary. The buildings were shabby and aged.
Fan Shangde walked with his hands clasped behind his back. He was in a superb mood. He walked the Vermilion Bird back to the neighborhood, leisurely and carefree. Along the way, he met some old friends, some with their pets, or with their better halves. They were also strolling in the neighborhood park.
"Old De, you're walking that silly bird again…"
"You're walking your better half as well…"
"Pff, you're walking your better half!"
"Old De is old but still licentious. Let's go…"
An old couple hurried away.
Fan Shangde laughed once their bickering was done. He took the Vermilion Bird back to his building; then he took out his keys and opened the door.
He stepped into the elevator and rode to the sixth floor.
He lived in room 601.
As soon as he opened the door, Fan Shangde could tell that someone else had arrived. The most obvious mark was that the several pairs of dirty socks he threw by his door were gone!
"Was it a burglary?"
Fan Shangde did not panic; rather, he was quite calm. He changed his shoes at the foyer and headed to the living room. He saw two people sitting there and smelled some delicious dishes coming from the kitchen.
"Grandpa, you're back." The two young people sitting on the couch stood up at once.
From their reactions, the girl was livelier. Her eyes glowed as she saw Fan Shangde. She ran over cheerfully and said, "Grandpa, we've been waiting for you for a long time."
Fan Shangde smiled and patted the girl's head. "How come you have time to visit me today?"
"I missed you, grandpa," The girl said with honeyed words.
"Well, aren't you sweet?" Fan Shangde pinched her nose.
The other young man that was standing by the couch smiled fatuously. "Grandpa, didn't you say that your Vermilion Bird had no appetite and would not eat? I asked someone in my team to get something birds of the fire family love. I'm here to deliver them to you today.
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"Thank you for your trouble." Fan Shangde nodded.
"You're welcome. This is what I should do." The young man scratched his head, smiling quietly.
The girl ran to the side of the living room and took out a metal case. She waved at the Vermilion Bird. "Xiao Huo, come here. These are all for you."
She opened the case and over a dozen varieties of pet food were revealed, including flowers, fruits, grasses, and even sealed cans with worms in them. All of it was food favored by birds.
Fan Shangde threw a look and said to the Vermilion Bird behind him. "Come on and take a look. Someone brought you some nice food."
Being an intermediate-rank pet, the Vermillion Bird was quite intelligent. It had been showing a lack of interest and only stepped over reluctantly after Fan Shangde had said so. The Vermilion Bird stuck out its head and took a look at the goods, then it turned around right away. Its eyes were filled with laziness. The bird nestled on the ground, not intrigued at all.
"Well…"
The girl was surprised. She didn't foresee that the Vermilion Bird would ignore her like this. How come it wasn't interested when there were so many delicacies?
The young man standing next to her was stunned as well. He felt the situation was awkward.
Fan Shangde, on the other hand, was not taken aback. He tried coaxing the Vermilion Bird into eating several of the treats the young man had brought but none of them worked.
"Grandpa, your bird is not coming down with something strange, is it?" The girl couldn't help but consider the possibility as she saw the Vermillion Bird lying on the ground, low-spirited.
Fan Shangde raised his eyebrows. He would have had the same idea on any other day. However, he was convinced that it was because of the food, after he witnessed with his own eyes how happy the Vermilion Bird was when it enjoyed the food in the pet store.
"It has been losing appetite recently and will not eat any of the usual food. I suppose it will be better after some time." Fang Shangde answered calmly and sat down on the side to rest.
The young man's eyes flickered. Building on what Fan Shangde said, the young man proposed, "If so, grandpa, why don't you bring it uptown with us. We have the best hospitals for Astral Pets there and it can be cured. Problems should be solved timely to avoid things to go wrong in the future. It will be quite convenient."
Fan Shangde snorted. "I already said my piece, I'm not going anywhere."
The young man expression's changed. He said nothing else.
"Grandpa, you don't want to go but you have to consider it for Xiao Huo's sake. It won't last long if it continues to go on a hunger strike like this. You cannot simply wait for it to starve to death and do nothing about it!" The girl tried to persuade him from another perspective, using a different way to solve the problem.
Hearing this, Fan Shangde raised his eyebrows. Somehow, he felt smug. "It won't starve. I already took it to get quality food today. It's just unwilling to eat this average pet food you brought here. That doesn't mean that it won't eat anything else," said Fan Shangde.
The young man was speechless. The food he brought was considered average? Every item was considered precious pet food!
"You bought food for it?" The girl sounded surprised. "Will it eat other pet food?" There was an odd look on her face.
"Of course." Fan Shangde laughed.
"I'm not convinced." Fan Xiaoyu was still in disbelief. She believed that her grandpa was just making up excuses. After all, in all those years, her grandpa had come up with many strange excuses just to avoid living with them in the uptown area.
Fan Yujing, the young man, was just as baffled after that exchange.
Fan Shangde puckered his eyebrows. He reached into his pocket and grabbed the little bottle. He pulled out the cap and poured out one fruit.
"Come here," Fan Shangde called the Vermilion Bird.
The Vermilion Bird had turned over the moment Fan Shangde opened the bottle.
The fruit was thrown to the Vermilion Bird.
The Vermilion Bird caught it with its mouth and swallowed it at once.
This scene shocked the siblings.
Soon, Fan Xiaoyu came back to her senses. She would not believe what had happened. "It must be because the food we brought was placed on the ground and Xiao Hou doesn't find any of it interesting. I've used the wrong way to feed it."
With that said, she took out some fruits from the case and said, "Xiao Huo, here."
The Vermilion Bird turned over.
A big pile of fruit was forced onto its beak.
Fan Xiaoyu: "…"
Fan Xiaoyu was in a cold sweat as she saw the Vermilion Bird about to fly into a fit of rage. Her hair was standing on end; she didn't dare to try again.
"Now you believe me," Fan Shangde said, laughing with satisfaction.
Fan Xiaoyu looked at him speechlessly. She knew that her plan of using Xiao Huo as a leverage to persuade him had fallen through.
"Grandpa, what kind of food is this? I've never seen it before. Where did you get it?" Fan Yujing checked the fruit carefully. He was confused. He had the confidence to say that he had been out for many battles so he was well-informed. Yet, he had never seen this bird food before.
Fan Shangde answered casually, "I bought it in a pet store nearby. It's called something like Scarlet Stone Fruit."
"Scarlet Stone Fruit?" Fan Xiaoyu pondered about the name. The name didn't ring any bells, even though she was a well-versed straight A student. "I have never heard about this fruit before. Is it real food? I'm afraid that it may produce side effects," she said, wondering.
Fan Yujing nodded. "She's right. Some unethical pet stores will pass some weed off as pet food. There are strict regulations in the uptown area regarding this, unlike here. Grandpa, don't put Xiao Huo in harm's way just because you bought something unknown."
"What?"
Fan Shangde felt nervous once they put it this way.
The Vermilion Bird was his baby; it was of great significance to him. He could not imagine what would happen if something were to happen to it.
"I don't think that is the case. I bought it in a formal store. They have a business license." Fan Shangde tried to keep a calm appearance while inside he was fearful and trembling.
Fan Xiaoyu thought about it. "I heard that some gangster shops will mix some special chemicals in the pet food so that the food they sell tastes better and the pet would crave for more. Pets would lose their minds once they can't get such food, but they may suddenly die if they eat such food for a long time, or suffer from other ailments."
Fan Shangde was dumbstruck. He had seen such reports on the news. He became anxious.
"Right. The pet food I brought is the favorite for birds of the fire family but Xiao Huo won't even look at it. It's only interested in the fruit you have, grandpa. This is too strange." That simple smile vanished from Fan Yujing's face as his sister explained. Taking that simplicity's place was something malicious and severe.
"Well, grandpa, how much did it cost you?" Fan Xiaoyu asked all of a sudden.
Fan Shangde was surprised by this question. Out of instinct, he answered, "1500 coins…"
"One bottle costs 1500 coins?" Fan Xiaoyu was shocked. A layer of ice came onto her pretty face. "This is not uptown. There cannot be pet food this expensive. That has to be a gangster shop!"
"Grandpa, where is the store, and what is its name?" Fan Yujing asked directly.
"The Pixie Pet Store…"
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Chapter 18: Breeding Beast Kings
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Inside the Pixie Pet Store.
After the old man left, Su Ping could not wait to head to the Chaos Spirit Pool for Incubation behind the pet store, since he had just made some energy points.
"I wonder what kind of Astral Pet can be bred."
Su Ping was filled with anticipation and nervousness. The rarer the Astral Pet coming into being was, the higher the rent would be when he leased it. This could be a source of substantial income!
The system reminded him, "[Chaos Spirit Pool for Incubation] is currently at the first level. During every breeding process, one part per one hundred million of 'chaos aura' can be imported. Activate?"
"Chaos aura? What is that?" Su Ping found it unfamiliar.
"Chaos aura is the most fundamental energy in the universe, the origin of everything." The system's explanation sounded a bit fantasy-like.
Su Ping didn't understand it fully. He frowned. "But, isn't it too stingy to import only one part per a hundred million of this source energy?"
"The host can upgrade the spirit pool," the system suggested calmly.
The requirement for upgrading the spirit pool sprang to Su Ping's mind at once, along with the effects of spirit pools at different levels.
Currently, the Chaos Spirit Pool was at the first level. A hundred energy points would be needed to upgrade it to the second level and the chaos aura that could be imported would be increased to one part per ten million. In the best of chances, the pool would give birth to Astral Pets with higher rank bloodlines!
To upgrade the Chaos Spirit Pool to the third level would demand ten thousand energy points, which would increase the percentage of chaos aura imported to one part per million. There would be a small chance that an Astral Pet with a beast king's bloodline could be bred!
A hundred million energy points would be needed to upgrade to the fourth level, and the imported chaos aura would reach one part per one hundred thousand. There would be a bigger chance of breeding an Astral Pet with a beast king's bloodline and a very low possibility that the Astral Pet could be even more powerful!
Following the fourth level, there was the fifth, sixth, etc. and the highest was the ninth level!
In a ninth level Chaos Spirit Pool, a large amount of chaos aura could be imported. The ancestors of the mythical beasts, the Archaean Deities, could come into being!
Su Ping was completely astonished once he reached the latter part of the introduction. Beast ancestors? Archaean Deities?
Judging by the names alone, Su Ping could tell that such beings were horrifying. Those creatures had to be more terrifying than those legendary Astral Pets in that illustrated book of feral Astral Pets. Any one of such beings could endanger the whole world!
Could such beings also be regarded as Astral Pets?
Su Ping felt light-headed the moment he saw the energy points required for an upgrade to the ninth level. He knew that this was way out of his league at the moment. To upgrade to the third level was already in the distant future.
Besides, the effects of a third level Chaos Spirit Pool were already shocking.
With merely one part per million of chaos aura, there was a chance of breeding an Astral Pet with a beast king bloodline!
What was a beast king bloodline?
That was to say that such an Astral Pet would already have the strength of a beast king!
No matter how poor the Astral Pet's aptitude was, or how poor its level of understanding was, as soon as the Astral Pet reached adulthood, it would have the strength equivalent to a beast king. The only difference was the ranking among Beast Kings.
This did not refer to the Astral Pets that had a percentage of beast king bloodline fused in them. Such Astral Pets were, for the most part, of mixed blood and the beast king's bloodline would only account for a small ratio. It was almost impossible for such Astral Pets to evolve into Beast Kings.
"Breeding Beast Kings…"
While he stared at this Chaotic Spirit Pool that looked like a dried-up well, his mouth felt parched and his tongue scorched. Beast Kings were creatures that could run wild across the entire land and they were extremely hard to tame. All Beast Kings were violent and cruel. If he could breed one, then he could have a skyrocketing rise!
Su Ping had finally calmed himself after a long time of excitement. At the moment, he could only use the first level of the Chaos Spirit Pool. Lucky for him, even at the first level, the Chaos Spirit Pool would have a tremendous effect. There was a small chance that an Astral Pet of the intermediate level could be brought to life!
One Astral Pet of the intermediate level would be sold at one hundred thousand coins or more at the federal establishments!
"Activate the spirit pool." Su Ping looked at his 15.6 energy points. He made up his mind and invested the points.
-10 energy points.
The dry Chaos Spirit Pool began to absorb the energy. As such, a glow suddenly broke out. There was a trace of dark light that glimmered for an instant but then disappeared without a trace. Everything quieted down again.
Crack.
Something seemed to have fallen apart.
Su Ping looked over in surprise.
From the edge of the Chaos Spirit Pool crawled out a Little Skeleton that was off-white in color and about 20 cm in height. It was lower than a human's knee. The skeleton used great efforts to crawl out from the spirit pool. Then, it fell on the ground and shattered into pieces.
"A skeleton of the demon family?"
Su Ping was stunned speechless.
Pets of the demon family were highly popular for battle pets. They were loved by battle pet warriors because of their fierce abilities. But this Little Skeleton… was a pet of the lowest level in the demon family!
Su Ping was wishing that he could hit the jackpot and get a pet of the intermediate level on his first try. As it turned out, instead of the intermediate level, this skeleton was the lowest of the lowest level!
While he felt like weeping but had no tears, Su Ping wanted to take the chance. He cast an identification spell on the skeleton.
Little Skeleton
Property: pet of the demon family
Rank: the lower position of the first rank
Combat Strength: 1.1
Aptitude: poor
Abilities Mastered: Severed Limb Reassembly
"…"
This panel revealed information that couldn't be more average. Su Ping felt an urge to cry.
"Ding! The host has finished the breeding quest. The host will receive a random book about battle pet warrior skills," the system reminded him.
Su Ping came back to his senses. That was when he remembered the reward of the quest. His depressed mood turned for the better. At the very least, he could just think of the Little Skeleton as a tool for accomplishing quests.
"Where is the skill book?"
"In the host's storage space."
Su Ping entered his storage space to check at once. Not surprisingly, he found a skill book with a light blue color.
"'Killing intent', skill for elementary battle pet warriors."
Su Ping found this surprising. It was "killing intent." As he recalled, this seemed to be a rare battle pet warrior skill.
Generally speaking, among the skills that a battle pet warrior could master, first and foremost, there were four skills of augmentation effects: strength augmentation, blast augmentation, firmness augmentation, and perception augmentation!
The four skills of augmentation effects were essentials for all battle pet warriors!
To learn the four skills alone would take a long time. Apart from the four, the other battle pet warrior skills could have other special effects.
Take the skill book of this "killing intent" for example. This skill meant that through the power of the contract, the pet's desire for homicide would be externalized. The pet would sink into a crazed state and become fearless. The pet would attack violently, without any fear, even when the pet had suffered serious injuries.
It could be said that this was quite an aggressive battle pet warrior skill. When dealing with some threatening pets, this skill could produce miracles.
"This appears to be a quite difficult battle pet warrior skill. Battle pet warriors below the fourth rank may not be able to learn it." Su Ping found this surprisingly pleasant. While the breeding failed to some extent, the reward he drew was good. But he wasn't a battle pet warrior at the moment, so he couldn't use it yet.
Crack, crack!
At the moment, the Little Skeleton that fell by the Chaotic Spirit Pool crawled up again and was stumbling its way to Su Ping. It looked at Su Ping with its empty, dull eyes.
Su Ping forced a smile and picked up the Little Skeleton. He went to the counter and asked the system, "What is the lending rate for this Little Skeleton?"
"Pet, Little Skeleton, rent: 1 coin per hour."
One coin…
Su Ping's mouth twitched. This was the rental price. But if anyone would be willing to rent the Little Skeleton was yet to be seen!
After all, who would rent a Little Skeleton at the lower position of the first rank to go into battle?
Su Ping's forced smile had yet to fade away when he heard some footsteps. In the next second, the door was smashed open by two people who dashed in.
Su Ping was stunned. He placed the Little Skeleton on the chair by the side and asked the male and female that had come in with overweening arrogance. "And you are?"
"You unscrupulous merchant, come clean and tell us, what did you add in the pet food you sold?" the young man said, glaring at Su Ping coldly.
The ones that came were none other than Fan Yujing and his younger sister Fan Xiaoyu.
They hurried over right after they got the address from their grandfather.
Su Ping frowned after a moment of astonishment. "I don't understand what you're saying. Besides, are you my customers? Do I even know you?"
He went through the memories of the previous owner of the body but failed to recognize the two.
"I am saying this for your good. Don't be stubborn and reluctant to admit mistakes or defeats. Or else, you will land yourself in serious trouble!" Fan Yujing looked askance at Su Ping, continuing in a cold voice, "The food you just sold to an old man, some Scarlet Stone Fruit. What did you mix in them with?"
"Right," Fan Xiaoyu rested her hands on her hips and chimed in arrogantly.
At the mention of the Scarlet Stone Fruit, Su Ping remembered which customer it was. He understood what was going on at once, judging by the manners of those two.
"Are you suspecting that I tampered with the pet food?" Su Ping pulled a long face. He harvested that food at the risk of his life. How could anyone question him?
All of a sudden, the system's sound alerts sprang in his mind. The system that could always remain composed sounded quite cold, and even furious at the moment.
"Ad hoc quest: the store is being slandered for no reason. The host must prove innocence personally and demonstrate that there is nothing wrong with the pet food. The host must protect the reputation of the store against any defaming!"
"Reward if the quest is accomplished: a chance to enter any cultivation plane with an unlimited number of deaths for five days!"
"Punishment for quest failure: a 10 points deduction from the host's grade!"
Eh?
Su Ping stood in amazement.
There were ad hoc quests?
Besides, for this quest, the reward was a one time access to any cultivation plane for five days with unlimited number of deaths?
Previously, Su Ping did not cherish that opportunity presented to him and regretted it later. Surprisingly, there was another chance given to him again. This was a chance to train a low-rank pet to a pet of the highest grade easily!
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Chapter 19: Break Your Arm
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Just as Su Ping was reading the quest, Fan Xiaoyu smashed the table and her face was contorted with anger. "If there's nothing wrong with the food you sold, how come a pet with no appetite cannot stop eating that food? You'd better come clean!"
"Come clean?"
Su Ping came back to his senses. His eyebrows twitched when he looked at the hand on the counter. A glint of coldness flashed past his dark eyes, but he contained his fury.
The two people were battle pet warriors and he was no match for them.
"The host doesn't have to worry. There is nothing inside this store that can threaten your life. Anything and anyone that shows killing intent towards you will be erased, even when the Immemorial Savior arrives!"
Su Ping was stunned speechless. He didn't know that the pet store had such abilities. Didn't it mean that this store was his strongest shelter?
With the system's promise, Su Ping felt less worried. Looking at the two indifferently, he said, "Do you have proof that there is inappropriate stuff mixed in my pet food?"
"Proof?"
Fan Yujing's glare turned colder as he went on, "My words are the proof. Believe me. I will have the Pet Food Association come here to investigate at once and your dirty little store will be shut down!"
Su Ping raised his eyebrows.
He wasn't afraid of the Pet Food Association. After all, all the food was natural and harvested by him; there was nothing wrong with it.
That being said, the investigation procedures of the Pet Food Association would be complicated and it would affect his business. Besides, that would also harm the store's reputation. That would put him at a disadvantage when it came to finishing the system's assignments.
At the same time, Fan Xiaoyu noticed the many pet food bottles placed on the shelf behind the counter. When she saw the prices, she cried out in alarm, "Brother, look, this is a clip joint indeed."
Su Yujing took a glance. He pulled a long face at once. "I didn't know gangster shops were this bold in the outer town. This is a place where there are no rules nor laws."
"Hmm!"
Su Ping snorted. "A high price invariably means that this is a clip joint? Don't buy or come here and defame people just because you cannot afford it. The things I sell are attractive in price and quality. You get what you pay for. The price is more than reasonable!"
"I can't afford it?"
Fan Xiaoyu laughed out of extreme anger.
Even if the price were set ten times the amount, it would be nothing but a casual buy for them. How could he accuse them of not being able to afford anything?
Besides, the pet food he had was ten times more expensive than regular pet food. Who gave the owner the courage to call it "attractive in price and quality"?
"You get what you pay for. Nice try. I'd like to know what that thing priced at 20,000 coins can do. Can it make someone live forever?" Fan Xiaoyu burst into laughter out of fury.
Su Ping answered calmly, "Only 20,000 coins and you want to eat it and live forever. You're not looking for crap to eat, are you?"
"You!"
Fan Xiaoyu opened her beautiful eyes and bellowed, "Say that again?"
"Am I wrong?" Su Ping shrugged.
"How dare you insult my sister." Fan Yujing's eyes glared in coldness. He made a swift move and reached his hand to grab Su Ping's neck at lightning speed.
However, right at that moment, a sense of fatal danger rose in Fan Yujing's mind.
Before Fan Yujing could think about it, he heard a cracking sound. It was as if his arm had been pushed down by something. The bones in his arm were fractured from the elbow down.
The dull pain reached him in an instant. Fan Yujing gasped in pain. He stepped back at once to keep a distance from Su Ping.
"Brother?"
Everything happened too fast. Still angry, Fan Xiaoyu only saw how her brother was about to teach the other guy a lesson, to then see him suddenly step back as if something had struck him.
Fan Xiaoyu turned pale with fright as she saw Fan Yujing with a broken arm. Her brother was not an average boy. He had graduated and joined the rangers as a powerful battle pet warrior. He was far superior than her. How could his arm be broken?
Su Ping was surprised by this as well. Inside, he heaved a sigh of relief. The system was freaking awesome and this was a system of words.
"If it weren't for the fact that you didn't mean to end my life, it wouldn't be just your arm that would be broken." Su Ping sneered.
He was a guy that had died over a hundred deaths in cultivation planes. He had an acute sense of killing intent. Previously, Fan Yujing only intended to teach Su Ping a lesson and did not mean to murder him. Therefore, the system's punishment was not the most severe.
"Was it you who did this?" Fan Xiaoyu turned around and stared at Su Ping, shocked.
Who was this person that could easily break her brother's arm?
Also, judging by his looks, she could tell that Su Ping was in his early twenties, younger than her brother. Wasn't it an indication that Su Ping was more talented than her brother?
Fan Yujing was a person that had undertaken countless battles himself. While the pain from the broken arm was sharp, he managed to endure it. He was even more shocked than Fan Xiaoyu. Previously, in that instant, the sense of danger was still lingering in his heart like a needle and it was hard to be erased.
He didn't doubt that he had just visited the gates of hell!
"Who exactly are you?" Fan Yujing took a deep breath, putting on a stern look. This person that could break his arm and was younger than him had to be a genius, not a halfpenny the worse than those glamorous talents in the Federation. This person was far from an unknown anonymous guy!
"As you can see, just a normal guy, a pet store owner," Su Ping said, calmly, "Now, I believe we can communicate like equals."
Fan Yujing's countenance changed. He kept a low voice. "We didn't mean to offend you. It's just that this matter is related to our family. We were too anxious."
"It's funny." Su Ping chuckled.
At the same time, inside, he was sighing.
Right, only the powerful could have a say. Otherwise, people wouldn't even have the patience to listen to the explanation. The fist ruled even when the words were wrong!
"Didn't you ask me what the function of this is?" Su Ping revisited that subject, saying in a nonchalant tone, "These are Colored Buddha Leaves and can be regarded as a form of pet food. But this is disposable food. The only effect is that it can enlighten a pet's intelligence and increase the pet's power of understanding."
"Enlighten intelligence?"
Fan Yujing's expression changed once he heard this.
All the items that could enlighten intelligence were sold at 100,000, at the very least.
Why would this one only cost 20,000?
Fan Xiaoyu, who was supporting her brother, was also stunned. She didn't expect that this garish thing would be a treasure that could enhance intelligence.
"Which pet ranks can be enlightened by these Colored Buddha Leaves?" Fan Yujing voiced another question.
Right at this moment, he was no longer regarding this owner as a shady businessman. What kind of trickster was able to break his arm without leaving a trace?
Su Ping shrugged. "It can be applied to all pets below the Beast King rank."
"Well…"
The siblings stared dumbfounded.
All pets were inferior to Beast Kings.
Didn't it imply that even pets of the ninth rank could use this?
What treasure could enlighten the intelligence of a pet at the ninth rank? Such a treasure could not be purchased with one million, not to mention 100,000 coins!
For a moment, the siblings were looking at Su Ping in a weird way. If this man were a fraud, he was unusually powerful; such people were seldom con artists since they wouldn't have the need for it.
But if he weren't a fraud… then why be so stupid as to sell such a top-level treasure at only 20,000 coins?
Su Ping's mouth twitched as he noticed the funny glares the siblings threw at him. His heart was aching. Of course he knew that the price of 20,000 coins was low. Only the wealthy and ostentatious could regard this kind of price as "reasonable."
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Chapter 20: Evolution
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"I told you. The items in this store are attractive both in price and quality. It is completely fair." Su Ping kept a poker face.
The siblings could not utter a word.
If Su Ping were telling the truth, then this was far from just being attractive in price and quality. He was practically selling at a sacrifice!
The siblings looked at each other. They were shocked at the strength Su Ping demonstrated in that strike, but this matter still seemed surreal.
Su Ping could tell that this pair was not convinced. He frowned. All of a sudden, he thought of an idea. "If you don't believe me, I have something here that can prove it to you," He calmly said.
"What is it?" Fan Xiaoyu was confused.
Su Ping took out a transparent glass bottle from behind the counter and two blue fruits were found in the bottle. Su Ping explained, "These are Blue Element Fruits, with a low rank rating. This is a kind of food that is favored by advanced pets of the water family. With long-term administration, advanced pets of the family can have their abilities enhanced. If the low-rank pets of the water family can consume such a fruit, they will be directly promoted to the next rank!"
"Promoted to the next rank directly?"
The siblings were startled.
Things that could enable a direct rank promotion were extremely expensive, even those that were only for low-rank pets.
"The Blue Element Fruit can only be consumed by pets of the first, second, and third rank and only the first-time administration can show effects. The price is 8700." Su Ping added indifferently, "If you guys can find some low-rank pets of the water family, you will see the truth with one test."
"Only 8700?"
Once again, the siblings were speechless due to the appallingly low price.
And yet, compared with the Colored Buddha Leaves, they found it understandable.
"Well, as for low-rank pets of the water family, I don't have to get one elsewhere. I have one with me." Fan Xiaoyu blinked. "Sir, can we test it now?" she questioned.
Su Ping raised his eyebrows. "Of course."
"Good."
Astral powers began to surge over Fan Xiaoyu. She lifted a hand and grabbed at something in the air. A vortex appeared, from which a light blue figure hopped out and landed on her shoulder.
This was a blue dotted pet the size of a fist, shaped like a water polo ball. Only its big head could be seen; its four limbs were so short that they were hardly visible.
"Fountain Beast?" As soon as Su Ping saw this little guy, he recognized it as a first-rank pet of the water family. This pet was extremely common and ordinary, so ordinary that almost every family had one.
While those pets were merely at the first rank and their abilities could be practically ignored, they were loved by everyone. The reason was that Fountain Beasts could shoot water jets that were of no offensive value. To a large extent, they could help people save on household water.
Many adventurers could also ask the Fountain Beasts for help when they were exploring and wanted to wash their hands, drink some water, or take a bath. Owning a Fountain Beast was like carrying a small water source.
"Sir, will this work?" Fan Xiaoyu held the Fountain Beast in both hands and placed it in front of Su Ping.
Su Ping answered, "Sure. But you have to pay for the Blue Element Fruit first."
"Well…"
Fan Xiaoyu was hesitating.
Fan Yujing stepped forward and took out a card. He transferred the money to Su Ping. "Sir, please commence."
Su Ping heard the beautiful prompt tone of money entering his account. A faint smile climbed to his otherwise frigid face. He opened the bottle and took out a Blue Element Fruit from it.
In his store, this was the pet food only inferior to the Colored Buddha Leaf in terms of price.
"Little guy, here you go." Su Ping handed the fruit to the Fountain Beast.
The Fountain Beast had already smelled the Blue Element Fruit. When Su Ping handed over the fruit, the Fountain Beast could not wait to open its mouth and gobble it down before asking its master for permission.
The fruit with the size of a thumb was stuffed into its mouth. It was as if there were a drum filling the Fountain Beast's mouth, but soon the fruit was gone; the pet had swallowed it.
Three people had their eyes glued on the Fountain Beast, waiting for the effect to kick in.
Su Ping had thought that the Fountain Beast would need some time to digest it. However, in less than three minutes, something began to happen to the Fountain Beast.
The light blue spots on the Fountain Beast began to flow, like liquid. Then, the Fountain Beast's entire body swelled a bit.
This swelling was painful for the Fountain Beast, so it began to roll around on the counter. While it rolled, the Fountain Beast would eject some water arrows.
Su Ping used his hand to fend off the arrows. He noticed that it was somewhat painful when the water arrows struck his palm.
Whoosh!
All of a sudden, a much thicker water arrow was discharged.
Su Ping had no time to defend against it but in the next second, that water arrow was stopped by some invisible shield.
On the other side, Fan Xiaoyu noticed something as she realized the fact that the water arrows ejected by the Fountain Beast were aggressive. She held up an astral shield to protect her brother and herself.
The water arrows provoked ripples as they smashed against the astral shield. Her astral shield was of a high level and could fend off the water arrows easily
A moment later, the Fountain Beast stopped rolling around. Right then, it was two times as large as before. The four limbs that could not be seen earlier were still not visible. The limbs were short, but they were enough to support the Fountain Beast.
"It has evolved…" Fan Xiaoyu opened her eyes wide.
Since Fountain Beasts were highly popular, even a seven or eight-year-old kid could tell exactly what Fountain Beasts looked like from the first rank to the third rank. Naturally, Fan Xiaoyu would know.
A flash of surprise appeared in Fan Yujing's eyes. This Blue Element Fruit was an item that could facilitate evolution!
While the fruit was only effective for low-rank pets, it was rare!
"Done." Su Ping breathed a sigh of relief inside as he saw the result. "Do you have any other questions?" Su Ping asked.
The siblings came back to their senses. They looked at each other and their expressions were troubled.
"Sorry. We offended you in the beginning," Fan Yujing said, resisting the pain of his broken arm, slightly gnashing his teeth.
Fan Xiaoyu's expressions changed again and again but eventually, she gave tacit consent to the status quo.
They knew that a person that could sell such items for evolution and probably an item for intelligence enlightenment could never be a bad businessman. As such, the fruits this person sold to their grandpa could not be the usual kind, either. That was why the Vermilion Bird loved them.
"No problem."
Su Ping nodded. He accepted their apology. For the time being, it was the other party that had taken a beating. However, without the system's protection, he would have been the one suffering humiliation. After all, given the other party's domineering attitude, they would never listen to him.
Awkwardness ensued with a short moment of silence.
Fan Xiaoyu hesitated for a bit as she saw the Colored Buddha Leaf. "Sir, will that work?" she asked.
Su Ping raised his eyebrows. Was she still doubting him? "I already made the introduction. I won't repeat myself," he said, gloomily.
Fan Xiaoyu saw that Su Ping had misunderstood her so she wanted to explain at once. Before she could, Fan Yujing suddenly did something. He transferred the money to Su Ping and said, "We will take it."
No amount of explanation could work better than an actual purchase.
Fan Yujing felt it worthwhile to test it by spending 20,000. If this article was genuine, then it would be money more than well spent!
If it was fake, 20,000 was nothing for him. He could make tens or hundreds of times more with any trip made for opening up virgin soil.
Fan Xiaoyu was surprised by her brother's action but she soon understood his intention. She said nothing more. Still, she felt a bit reluctant inside.
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Chapter 21: First Main Quest
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"Really?"
Su Ping twitched his eyebrows in surprise when he heard the sound alert of money received. He didn't expect this boy to be so swift in action.
The 20,000 coins entered his account and that could be converted to 200 points of energy.
With the 200 points of energy, he could buy a bottle of "Awakening Potion" at once, which could make him a battle pet warrior.
While he was delighted, Su Ping kept a calm look. At the same time, he felt reluctant to sell it. After all, the Colored Buddha Leaves were more valuable than what the price indicated. If it weren't for the fact that money made outside the store could not be converted to energy points, he would have tried to sell the Colored Buddha Leaves elsewhere so he could name the price at will.
"System, can we not increase the price?" Su Ping asked in his mind, unwilling to sell it at this price.
"The system's pricing is reasonable. There's no need to change the price," the system replied.
Su Ping felt he was choking on his own blood. His face darkened.
The siblings were baffled as they saw this anguished look on Su Ping's face. Others would be unhappy when a deal fell through. Why would this owner pull a long face when a deal came through? What a weirdo.
"Here."
Su Ping handed the plant to Fan Yujing.
Fan Xiaoyu took it over for her brother. "How do you eat this?" She was curious.
"How?" Su Ping said indifferently, "Chew it up so you don't choke."
Fan Xiaoyu was on the verge of spitting out blood in anguish. Taunted by his words, she stood there, at a loss, and could not come up with anything else to say.
Fan Yujing didn't mind seeing his sister being humiliated. "Sir, how many pieces of Scarlet Stone Fruits are left? I will take them all," said Fan Yujing.
Su Ping's expression softened a bit as another order was being placed. He turned around and picked up the bottle with Scarlet Stone Fruits to count the number. "One piece of fruit is 130 and there are 22 left. Altogether, it would be 2860 coins."
"Is that 130 for one piece of fruit?" Fan Xiaoyu came back to her senses, only to be stunned again. "You are selling on a per fruit basis?
"Should I sell them in slices?" Su Ping glared at her.
Fan Xiaoyu: "…"
Fan Yujing had already noticed that his grandpa didn't have many Scarlet Stone Fruits left. He had been prepared for the price so he didn't comment further. At least, for the moment, the Scarlet Stone Fruit was the only thing the Vermilion Bird would eat. The price was still acceptable even though it was high.
Fan Yujing paid up and collected his merchandise. He darted a glance to the other items on the counter but was no longer in the mood to probe. "Let's go," he said to his sister.
Fan Xiaoyu was in low spirits. She carried the food and left the store with her brother. When they got into their car, she snorted angrily. "This person is despicable. I am furious!"
Su Ping lashed out on her several times. She had been grinding her teeth in wrath. She would have come forward to fight back if it weren't for the fact that Su Ping had displayed a horrifying strength.
Fan Yujing didn't share her view. "It is us that have been careless. I didn't know that we could meet such a person in this kind of small place. This person has the strength and is young, yet he is willing to spend his days in comfort here. I cannot figure him out."
"Hmm, he is just purposely making a mystery out of simple things. Maybe he's a bastard from some big family and is homeless, so he has to come here and sell some family belongings just to make some money for food!" Fan Xiaoyu conjured up the meanest assumption. With this said, she couldn't help but grin. The cloud over her mood had vanished into smoke.
Fan Yujing was speechless after seeing how his sister was cheering herself up. "All right now. You drive. Let's go to a good hospital to bind up this wound. Later, I will contact my friend and have him treat me," he said, grumpily.
Fan Xiaoyu threw a look at his twisted arm. That grin was soon substituted by a frown. Her look became solemn.
This person was far stronger than she was, to be able to hurt her brother this badly. She was sure that she was one of the best amongst her peers at school. She could never imagine that she could meet someone stronger in that remote and backward place.
"So mean!"
She bit her teeth in hatred again as she remembered how detached that person was.
Buzzing, buzzing!
The car was like a beast that had gone mad. The exhaust growled.
Somehow, Fan Yujing felt something was wrong. In the next second, the car was launched forward.
"No…!"
…
…
Hearing the car rushing away, Su Ping knew that the siblings were finally gone. He thought they had to be in a rush considering how fierce the exhaust sounded.
"Are they rushing to the hospital?" Su Ping raised his eyebrows. He didn't think about it too much; soon after, he shifted his focus on his account.
He did the calculation. His eyes were filled with passionate feelings.
8700200002860=31560 coins.
Altogether, that was over 30,000 coins!
That would be 315.6 energy points when converted!
"Finally, I'm out of poverty…" Su Ping teared up. He pulled up the system's shop and bought that "Awakening Potion" worth a hundred energy points without further ado.
-100.
When the points of energy were deducted, Su Ping felt his pocket suddenly become heavy with an extra item added.
He took it out. It was that bottle of Awakening Potion sold in the shop.
Su Ping's eyes glowed. He asked at once, "System, how do I take this?"
"The Awakening Potion is made from an ancient underground spring. Take it orally," the system gave a simple reply.
Su Ping was about to drink it at once when he suddenly remembered something. He left the counter, turned around, and closed the door. Then, he stepped into the back room. He opened the lid and poured the Awakening Potion into his mouth.
It didn't feel like a flow of liquid; it was more like a mist.
"So warm…"
As soon as he took it, Su Ping felt this warm mist spreading across his body through his veins. His arms, legs, and back turned warmer at once.
At the same time, his body seemed to be lighter until he felt he weighed nothing, as if he could just float when he stood on his tiptoes.
Feeling this warmth, Su Ping could faintly hear some cracking sounds all over his body. That was a special sound that brought a marvelous feeling. It was as if every cell in him was sprouting and cracking, with new things bursting forth.
This kind of disputing and revitalizing feeling was not exclusive to his physical body. He felt his brain was going through the same thing. He could hear a constant subtle cracking sound until it completely occupied his mind.
After a long, long time.
When everything quieted down, Su Ping opened his eyes again.
A world that was distinct and in focus was revealed in front of his eyes.
To his surprise, Su Ping realized that the darkroom and everything around could be seen vividly, including the protruding particles painted on the white walls.
He heard the system's even tone, "Congratulations to the host on becoming a battle pet warrior. The main quest is initiated.
"Main quest: the host is to breed a pet of his own within one week. The aptitude of the pet shall not be lower than upper-middle."
Su Ping was astounded.
The main quest?
But there were strings attached.
He had to have a pet with an upper-middle level in aptitude.
When he was training the Lightning Rat, Su Ping already had an idea about how strict the system was. A Lightning Rat that could be regarded as the best was only rated as "below average" by the system.
He could hardly imagine how outstanding a pet that was rated at the upper-middle level would be!
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Chapter 22: Antiquity Pet Contract
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Su Ping inspected the status of his body attentively. He had just become a battle pet warrior.
He also had to admit that battle pet warriors and average people were worlds apart. Just on the front of antiquity alone, Su Ping had detected a great difference.
He had become lissome and his sight, hearing, and the rest of the five senses had become two times as acute as before!
"In the Federation, battle pet warriors are divided into nine ranks.
"Those from the first to the third ranks are elementary battle pet warriors; from the fourth to the sixth are intermediate battle pet warriors. The ones at the seventh rank are advanced battle pet warriors and those at the eighth rank are battle pet masters who enjoy a high status and can be qualified as professors in famous academies.
"As for the ninth rank battle pet warriors, the highest rank, they have titles conferred upon them and are admired by the public!"
"Beyond that rank are the legendary Beast King battle pet warriors. Each of such people is a legend. Their life experiences are adapted to movies and novels, so that their stories and exploits can be disseminated through the generations. People will still remember them even after a hundred years of their passing!
"Just now, the original core talent has just awakened in me. I haven't started the battle pet warrior's training and there's no astral power in me at all. I cannot even qualify as a first-rank battle pet warrior.
"Cultivation as a battle pet warrior…"
Cultivation had posed a conundrum for Su Ping.
He was no longer able to get admitted to Astral Pet academies given his age. After all, he had passed the age limit. That is, unless he was admitted via special recruitment due to an outstanding performance.
The main knowledge source on cultivation for elementary battle pet warriors were the various Astral Pet academies.
While there were some cultivation methods of battle pet warriors posted online, they were superficial. There were no examples for practical applications.
"Do I have to… ask my sister for advice?"
Su Ping dismissed the idea as soon as it popped up, at the thought of her arrogant face.
No matter which way he looked at it, the chances of his sister being willing to teach him would be… zero. No, actually, below zero. He would be mercilessly mocked by her as well!
Su Ping shook his head. Anyways, he had become a battle pet warrior. He had to make a contract with a pet first.
Su Ping knew the basics of making a contract with a pet. This was no secret. Anyone with some fundamental understanding of pets would know.
"The number of pets a battle pet warrior can make a contract with is directly linked to spiritual power. The stronger the spiritual power is, the more pets can be contracted and the pets will be stronger as well!"
"Usually, a battle pet warrior cannot establish a contract with a pet that is two ranks higher than him/herself. Otherwise, the pressure on the spirit would hinder the mind, to descend into insanity until one became mentally retarded!"
Su Ping was not even a first rank battle pet warrior. The kinds of pets that he could make contracts with were few and far between. Lucky for him, there was one in the store.
Remembering that Little Skeleton, Su Ping began to have second thoughts.
That little thing was of practically no value and it would take up a spot if he were to build a contract with it.
The more pets were contracted, the higher the pressure on the master's mind would be.
"If I were to buy other pets when my strength could be improved over time, I would tie them down and their development would be suffocated because most pets with advanced bloodlines would stay in the first rank for a very short time."
Su Ping frowned. As such, there was not much of a choice for him. He had to go with the low-rank pets.
Fortunately, he could remove the contract once he became more powerful in the future. Removing the contract would add a burden to his mind as well. Within three days, he would lose his combat abilities. That being said, with the protection of the pet store, such side effects could be ignored.
Having made up his mind, Su Ping stopped worrying. He went back to the lobby.
Slap!
The Little Skeleton seemed to be scared by Su Ping. It rolled down from the chair by the counter, then it fell to the ground, turning into a pile of bones that slowly reassembled.
Su Ping was speechless. This Little Skeleton appeared to be timid. This was rarely seen among pets of the demon family.
"Little guy, you will be my pet from now on."
Su Ping moved closer. He picked up the Little Skeleton from the ground and placed it on the counter.
The Little Skeleton sat there silently, staring at Su Ping blankly with its hollowed eye sockets.
Su Ping was happy that the Little Skeleton was behaving. The only benefit of a timid pet was the fact that they could be tamed easily.
He was about to make the contract when, suddenly, he heard the system's message, "Does the host want to purchase an Antiquity Pet Contract?"
"Antiquity Pet Contract?"
Su Ping did not understand.
"The Antiquity Pet Contract is a form of Astral Pet contract and is equipped with all the features of the current Astral Pet contracts. The only difference is that the pet's emotions can be sensed via the Antiquity Pet Contract. Also, within a specific range, the pet can be called back to the pet space at any time, provided that the pet is not constrained or sealed in any way," the system explained, with particular patience.
Su Ping was left staring, open-mouthed.
Different effects could come from varied contracts?
In his memory, there was only one form of Astral Pet contracts. Nobody knew that there could be other contracts apart from this common Astral Pet contract!
Besides, wasn't this Antiquity Pet Contract a bit too fabulous to be able to summon the pet back at any time?
Being the case, once the pet sensed danger, it could be summoned back to avoid a sacrifice. For battle pet warriors, this was a master skill!
Su Ping became alerted as his mind wandered to his point. "How much energy does it cost?"
"One hundred points of energy will do," the system replied.
Su Ping was amazed.
Just one hundred energy points?
Why would such an excellent article be sold at such a cheap price?
Even the elementary beast catching ring would cost a hundred energy points in this shop!
"Consider this contract somewhat like a gift from the system. The actual price is far dearer than this." The system sounded casual.
"Really?" Su Ping was skeptical. Could it be that this was a complimentary offering to begin with, and the system was ripping him off?
"Warning. First profanity alert!"
"Hmm. Did you just admit it?" Su Ping wore a sardonic grin.
The system remained silent.
Su Ping went through some unspoken criticism in his heart. While he hated to part with his energy points, he did make up his mind and purchased it.
For the moment, the contract might not be of great help to him. That being said, beyond all question, this Antiquity Pet Contract was valuable. Furthermore, this contract was not a disposable item. It could be used repeatedly and with all his pets. He could use it for a long time to come.
If in the future, this contract could enable him to save the life of an advanced pet, then the 100 energy points would be well spent!
-100.
"Purchase success. The Antiquity Pet Contract has arrived. Please check," the system reminded him.
Before Su Ping had the time to cry over his lost energy points, he found a complicated mark emerging in his mind. The mark, seemingly made up of many lines, was drawn in his memory stroke by stroke, until it could not be forgotten and he would remember it to the end of his days.
"Lead with blood and engrave with an array?"
Su Ping came back to his senses, still quite confused and stupefied. He focused his mind and the contract method of this Antiquity Pet Contract emerged once more, shocking him again.
This contract was not made with astral powers. His blood would be the medium and the content was the array depicted with complex and mysterious lines. Such a contract would be firm and would not be cut off unless the master removed the contract by his own accord.
"Apart from being able to summon the Astral Pet back, this contract is similar to the ones built with astral powers, including removing the contract. I would lose combat abilities for three days." Su Ping took a closer look. The system did not lie to him.
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Chapter 23: Mutation
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Su Ping shifted his focus back to the Little Skeleton. According to the process described in the Antiquity Pet Contract, he bit his finger and slowly painted the Little Skeleton's forehead with his blood.
The Little Skeleton was still sitting there, absent-minded. It seemed to be oblivious of everything around it, but then the Little Skeleton reacted to the smell of blood on Su Ping's finger; a faint scarlet color appeared in its hollowed eye sockets.
The Little Skeleton slowly lifted its arm to reach toward Su Ping's hand, although the latter retracted his hand right after he finished painting the contract.
An intricate blood pattern was engraved on the Little Skeleton's forehead.
As Su Ping lowered his hand, the blood pattern disappeared bit by bit as if the Little Skeleton had absorbed it.
In the next moment, Su Ping felt an additional line in his consciousness that was linked to an external consciousness.
The second was a quite feeble consciousness, like a flickering candlelight that could die out at any time.
From the weak consciousness, Su Ping felt some faint hints of fear and confusion.
"Is this the Little Skeleton's consciousness?" Su Ping looked at the Little Skeleton. With the power granted to him by the contract, he could vividly sense the changes in the Little Skeleton's emotions.
The Little Skeleton looked up, staring blankly at Su Ping. It was still puzzled about the recent changes it was going through.
Su Ping patted its little head. After all, the Little Skeleton had just come into being. There was no legacy nor memory in it. It was only natural that the Little Skeleton would be muddleheaded about everything.
Su Ping went to open the door. As the sunlight flooded the store, he abruptly sensed fear coming from the Little Skeleton's mind.
He turned around, only to see the Little Skeleton who had fallen from the counter. The bones scattered around slowly moved into the shades at a corner by the counter. The Little Skeleton reassembled itself. It was hugging its knees, curled up, shivering from fear.
"Is it afraid of sunlight?"
Su Ping was surprised. He realized that he had been ignorant. The majority of pets of the demon family preferred a dark environment. A fraction of them were so afraid of sunlight that they could only stay in darkness.
Su Ping came back at once and carried the trembling Little Skeleton to the pet room at the back.
There was an empty nursing pen. Su Ping placed the Little Skeleton in the stalagmite array.
"System, this complimentary nursing pen costs 10 coins per hour. What can it do?" Su Ping asked out of curiosity.
It was not a cheap price to hire the pet boarding service at 10 coins per hour.
"The free nursing pens are built with scrap spirit stones. The remaining spirit energy and the complex and confusing radiations from the scrap minerals can be of aid in the pet's growth. There is a high chance that the pets can mutate," The system explained.
"Mutate?"
Su Ping was startled.
Apart from evolution, with the difference in the living environment, there was a small chance that pets could mutate.
As for mutation, it implied that the pet would become an entirely different species.
Maybe it could become a new and more powerful species, or it could degenerate into a failed species.
Some war zones with extremely harsh environments, filled with devastation and technological waste, were the most likely places to breed mutant beasts.
Most of the mutant beasts would carry agents with unknown diseases, which would very likely cause plagues or form a large-scale virus attack.
Such cases could be lethal to the general public. As such, in most cases, "mutated pets" were words that could instill panic.
At the same time, in scientific pet studies, people never stopped inducing mutations in pets. Many famous ninth rank pets in the Federation had been the result of mutations by scientific methods. Those pets were proficient in battles; they had also been successfully bred as new species!
"Are the pets mutated in the slots good or bad?" Su Ping consulted the system.
The system gave a brief answer, "Half and half. It is advisable for the host to upgrade the nursing pens into elementary nursing pens, to avoid damaging the store's reputation."
Su Ping curled his lips.
Fortunately, he thought of asking this question.
He already had a bad feeling when the system mentioned radiation of scrap minerals. The cheap buyer takes bad meat.
"Go ahead and upgrade it."
Without hesitation, Su Ping made the decision.
First of all, after the upgrade, the rent would be 10 times higher and other benefits would ensue. Second, he couldn't afford to face the possibilities of failed mutations.
Harming his customer's pets and having a fall-out with them would be detrimental to the store's reputation. The system was not giving him a free nursing pen. The system was planting a sinister bomb!
Lucky for him, he had just made some quick cash. Other than that, the business hadn't been good in the past couple of days. Nothing had happened.
-20 points of energy.
Suddenly, a hazy white light glowed over the two aged stalagmite arrays. When the white light was dispersed, he found that the stalagmite arrays had a brand-new appearance. The arrays were practically the same; they used the same sharp stones but the color of each stalagmite was completely different from before.
Previously, it was as if the slots had been built with rough rocks in dim and dreary colors. But then, the stalagmites were like ivories, full of life.
"Now we are talking."
Su Ping was satisfied.
His heart began to ache though, since he remembered that this elementary nursing pen would cost him one energy point for maintenance every day.
It was burning a hole in his pocket.
In a blink, less than 100 energy points remained from the original 315.
"I have to make the most of the time available to earn energy points. I still need to upgrade the Chaos Spirit Pool."
Su Ping was filled with anticipation at the thought of the effects that a third rank Chaos Spirit Pool could bring. If he could breed a pet with a Beast King's bloodline, the mere action of displaying the pet in the store could attract a large group of customers!
"Is anyone in?" someone was shouting from outside the store.
Su Ping found the voice familiar. He rushed out from the pet room in the back.
Two beautifully-dressed girls were standing by the door, looking around quite carefully.
"What?"
Su Ping immediately recognized one of the girls when he laid eyes on her. It was the girl that came for the Lightning Rat.
…
"Is the owner here?" asked Su Yanying by the door. She looked into the store, confused.
"Yingying, are you sure this is the place?"
Lan Lele, who was wearing a gauzy skirt, had tagged along. After looking at such an obscure and disgraceful little store, Lan Lele found it hard to believe that this genius Lightning Rat had been trained here.
"This is the place!"
Su Yanying was certain. "This place must have something to do with the changes in my Lightning Rat!"
She gradually had a better understanding after the preliminary contests; there was indeed something way off about her Lightning Rat.
After being visited and questioned by her teachers and the class advisor, she realized to a large extent how freakishly strong her Lightning Rat was!
It could be regarded as a coincidence if the Lightning Rat only learned one advanced pet skill. But nobody would think this after seeing how the Lightning Rat could use two of such skills.
She threw her teachers off the scent; after all, she wasn't really sure. And yet, she did know that this might have something to do with the pet store where she left her Lightning Rat for temporary boarding.
Before that, the Lightning Rat had been quite ordinary and it had never come into contact with anything else before the stay at the pet store. With such analysis, she believed the only variable in the equation was the pet store!
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"The owner is here."
Su Yanying's eyes' brightened slightly when she saw Su Ping coming out from the back. She stepped forward right then, dragging her friend with her.
"Hi, what can I do for you?"
Su Ping moved to the counter and his eyebrows were knitted together.
His heart was in extreme pain as he thought about the mere 108 coins he received for that outstanding Lightning Rat.
Su Yanying noticed that Su Ping's expression appeared to be unnatural. While she found it bizarre, she did not pry further. "Sir, do you remember the Lightning Rat I picked up?" She threw out her question in a hasty manner.
Rip.
It was the sound of the scar in his heart being torn open.
Su Ping curled his lips and his face darkened. "What is wrong with it?"
"There is nothing wrong with it. I'm only asking if you did anything to it." Su Yanying couldn't hold back from asking this question.
"…" Su Ping remained silent for a long time before he said, "What do you think I would do to a rat?"
"Well…"
Su Yanying realized that her question was phrased oddly. Her cheeks blushed as she went on in a low voice, "Sir, that's not what I meant. I'm only wondering if it was trained here." She uttered those words with prudence and respect.
If the Lightning Rat had been trained there, then there had to be master trainers working in this place. Even battle pet warriors with titles would have to treat such master trainers with respect and politeness. Of course, she also had to do the same.
"Oh?"
Su Ping was intrigued. He understood the intention of their visit, based on the information he heard from his sister Su Lingyue.
This girl saw that little rat in action, so she returned to find out the reason for its growth.
There was one thing, though.
This matter involved the pet store's secret and the system, things that he could not expose.
Su Ping made up a random answer, "If taking it for a walk can count as training, then yes, I did train it for a couple of days."
Su Yanying did not see this coming. "Walks?"
"Of course I have to take it outside for a walk after a good meal," Su Ping said off the top of his head. He was about to be convinced by his own words.
Su Yanying was losing patience with Su Ping playing with her. "Sir, I'm being serious. Did you not train it at all?" she asked in a hurry.
Su Ping frowned a bit. She was persistent. "What does it have to do with you if it was trained here or not? I can compensate you if you think there is something wrong with it, or you can return it and I will buy it. If you find it in good shape, then I will be okay if you want to give me more money. Other than that, please leave if you have nothing else to do here. Don't interrupt my business."
Su Yanying never expected that the store owner would tell them to leave so directly. She recovered from her shock soon and hurried to explain, "Sir, this is not what I'm saying. I am merely seeking confirmation. If you have trained it for me, please let me know, all right?"
Su Ping raised his eyebrows. "If so, then yes. Are you happy now?"
Su Yanying found it hard to find words.
"Hey you, we're not here to look for trouble. If you trained Lightning Rat, then tell us. We're not going to hurt you," Lan Lele said, unsatisfied by Su Ping's attitude.
Su Ping kept a straight face. "I already said it. I trained the Lightning Rat. But if you want to know the process and methods, then I will have to say sorry."
Su Yanying finally found the root of their misunderstanding. She shook her head at once. "Sir, I have no desire to look into the methods and process of your training. I'm just very grateful to you for training my pet."
"Oh, I see…" Su Ping put away his cold face and said, "If you want to say thank you, then give me some more money."
"What?"
Su Yanying was stunned.
Money?
As far as she could tell, a person able to train the Lightning Rat to such a degree had to be a hermit who would not care about such worldly items.
"You don't have money?" Su Ping's eyebrows were knitted together. Coldness returned to his face again.
Looking at how Su Ping changed his face, Su Yanying had the feeling that she had made a mistake since the very beginning. Was her Lightning Rat trained elsewhere?
"I finally understand what it means when people say that before gold, even kings take off their hats!"
Lan Lele couldn't help but complain about Su Ping's reaction. She grabbed Su Yanying's hand and said, "Yingying, you must have made a mistake. There's no way that your Lightning Rat was trained in such a place. That little thing had an epiphany or something else happened. Let's go back and discuss it."
Su Yanying came back to her senses and shook her head. "Since the owner has admitted that there was some training, I believe the change happened here. Anyways, I must thank the owner for taking care of the Lightning Rat."
With that said, Su Yanying noticed that Su Ping's expression was the same as before and was unmoved by her words. She realized something. She took out her phone and transferred one thousand. "Sir, this is a thank you."
Su Ping didn't expect that the girl would pay the extra money, and she was quite generous at that. After a moment of surprise, he nodded and said, "Good, good. I would appreciate it if you can give me more."
Su Yanying did not know how to respond to that. Of course, she wasn't going to give him more money.
"What kind of person is he?" Lan Lele almost burst into flames after hearing Su Ping's reply. At that moment, she just caught a glimpse of the many pet foods behind the counter. Her eyes were wide open in astonishment. "300 for a plant? Such ridiculous pricing!"
She grabbed Su Yanying's arm at once. "Let's go, this is not a legitimate store. He's ripping us off!"
Alerted by her cries, Su Yanying became dazed for a second. Then, she cast a look at the pet food behind Su Ping. She, as well, was startled by what she saw.
Still, she remained on the spot. Lan Lele failed to drag her away.
A moment later, she came back to her senses. She took a look at Su Ping who was still composed. There was no trace of shame in him.
Su Ping could tell from Su Yanying's looks that she was deliberating. After a moment of hesitation, Su Yanying asked, "Sir, can I leave a few more pets here? Is that okay?"
Naturally, Su Ping was glad when there was business. "Yes, of course. For how long?" He nodded at once.
"Three days." Su Yanying replied after some thought.
Su Ping nodded slightly. He took out an old fashioned calculator and pushed the buttons rapidly. "For three days, that is three by 24. Well, each pet will cost you 7200 coins. How many do you want to leave here?"
"Three pets…" Halfway through her sentence, Su Yanying glared at Su Ping in utter astonishment. "How, how much is that?"
"Is there something wrong with my ears?" By her side, Lan Lele was perplexed as well.
"One pet, 7200 coins." Su Ping raised his eyebrows when he saw how the two girls reacted.
"7200 coins?" Su Yanying repeated the numbers. She was still questioning the possibility of her hearing acting up. "7200 coins for one pet? Sir, I just want to leave them in your care for three days only!"
Su Ping nodded. "I know. This is the price for a three-day stay. The charge is 100 per hour. So, the result comes as 7200 for three days, no more, no less."
"One hundred per hour?" Lan Lele sized Su Ping up and down as if he were a monster.
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Chapter 25: Initiating Training Quest
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"This person must be in dire need of money, right?"
Lan Lele was pissed off.
Even at the flagship stores—under master trainer's names that provided all-round care and could be counted among the best locally—pet boarding charges would never go as high as this.
But.
"What the hell is wrong with this shabby store?
"Look at the environment. It's clean but the storefront is narrow, small and worn-out. Its location is completely out of the way. The monthly rent might not even go beyond 3000. How could this store compare with the famous flagship stores?"
Lan Lele believed that this owner had decided either to not do business, or to make one deal happen and then close down for years. He was trying to milk money from them!
"Wishful thinking!"
"Yingying, let's go. This owner is a dirty profiteer. A master able to train this Lightning Rat is surely someone who would never have anything to do with him!" Lan Lele glared at Su Ping, her mouth virtually foaming. She didn't hesitate to urge Su Yanying to leave.
But Su Yanying did otherwise. She asked Su Ping, puzzled, "Sir, the service was not this expensive the last time I came here."
"The care system has been ungraded. Naturally, the price has to go up," Su Ping said, calmly.
"The care system has been upgraded?" Su Yanying stood stunned for a moment. Then, a glow came to her eyes as she said, gladly, "The pet boarding treatment is better than before? Doesn't this mean that the pet can learn more advanced pet skills?"
"Of course not," Su Ping said without thinking.
"What?" Su Yanying's face was covered in question marks.
"I just trained that little guy for some time while I was at it. Its change was a complete surprise." Su Ping kept a straight face. "Now, of course, I no longer have such luxury of free time. If you want to leave your pets for boarding, then that is it. No training is included."
Su Yanying understood. "Sir, you finally admitted it. It is you that helped train my Lightning Rat!" she said, giggling.
"I did admit it before," Su Ping pointed it out.
"This is not the same." Su Yanying gloated. Staying was the right decision. She hurried to the next question, "Well, sir, what benefits can come with the current pet boarding?"
She believed that there had to be some reasons to account for the high price.
Su Ping remained neither hostile nor friendly. "Only an improvement on the pet's constitution and power of understanding. If the pet itself is quite qualified, then there is a low chance of evolution but nothing else. If you want the pets to learn pet skills from this foster care, you will only be disappointed."
He was telling the truth. After all, the benefits that came with the nursing pens alone would be worthy enough for the price charged. If he had to throw in the training, he would be losing money as it was.
Su Yanying said oh. She was let down but not so upset.
After all, she managed to confirm that her Lightning Rat had received training in this very store. This fact alone was enough to make her happy. At least, she had found the origin of the change in her pet, saving her from that muddle-headed situation.
"Only an improvement in its power of understanding and constitution?" Lan Lele gazed at Su Ping skeptically.
While Su Ping had admitted that the Lightning Rat's change was related to this store, she still found it hard to believe. Once Su Ping revealed the benefits of the pet boarding service, her skepticism was increasing even more.
Those words were practically used in all the pet stores' advertisements!
At the end of the day, there was something.
Power of understanding and constitution could not be measured or tested, unless the scope of improvement was large. Otherwise, who could tell if the pet's constitution and power of understanding had been enhanced or not?
"Sir, can I ask you to train my pets for me again?" Su Yanying looked at Su Ping with anticipation. As for the pet boarding, she wasn't that interested after Su Ping had made the introduction.
Usually, people would only leave their pets at a boarding service when they had too many pets to take care of. At the moment, she was free and she could feed them herself; she could also train their battle skills.
"Train them?"
Su Ping was about to refuse when he heard the system's voice.
"Detecting customers in need of pet training. [Pet Training] service has become available in advance."
"The host can accept orders according to the price set for pet training services."
Following the prompt message was a price list, like a menu, with the charge related to different levels of training services.
For pets from the first to the third rank, the training fee was 10,000 coins.
For pets from the fourth to the sixth rank, the training fee was 100,000 coins.
For pets from the seventh to the ninth rank, the training fee was a million coins.
For beast kings… the training fee was 10 million!
The items for pets from the fourth rank and above were greyed out, meaning that Su Ping could not accept such orders. He could only train low-rank pets from the first to the third rank for the moment.
"The condition for unlocking the next training tier is to train a low-rank pet with an aptitude rated as above average."
Su Ping didn't know what to say when he saw the unlocking requirement. This was harder than making a million coins. That being said, this unlocking requirement fell within the scope of his main quest. That was to say, when he finished the main quest, he could unlock the second-class training service while he was at it!
"Sir?"
Su Yanying called him when she noticed his mind was elsewhere.
Su Ping came back to his senses and nodded to her. "Training, right? Currently, the store only accepts low rank pets from the first to the third rank and the training fee is 10,000 for one session."
"Ten thousand?"
Su Yanjing did the math. The price was a bit high but it seemed much normal than the nursing pen rate. After all, the training service in itself was the highest charging service of them all. There was no upper limit established!
As to whether the money would be well spent, she would have to see the effect after the training.
With the precedent of the Lightning Rat, Su Yanying had faith in this store. Even an inferior pet like the Lightning Rat, if a second Lightning Rat could not be trained, it would be more than worthwhile!
"Then I will have the Lightning Rat trained again." Su Yanjing made a decision after some consideration.
Lan Lele was surprised by this. "Yingying, you want to train that little guy again? It is excellent as it is. I don't think it can progress any further with more training. Besides, the second round of matches will start in a few days. This little guy is your ace card now. You will be screwed if the training goes wrong."
Su Yanying shook her head. "I don't plan on sending out the Lightning Rat for the second round of matches. It has already outdone itself. For the second round, the players are decided by lucky draws. My opponent will make the best of these days to find ways to target my Lightning Rat. To send it out there again won't be of much use. Besides, my other pets will have recovered by then. They are more than enough to get me past the second round!"
"But…" For a time, Lan Lele was at a loss for words. She just felt uneasy.
Su Ping cast a glance to Lan Lele and then asked the girl in front of him, "Have you decided?"
Su Yanying nodded and said resolutely, "The Lightning Rat!"
"Sure. Pay the charge first." Su Ping nodded.
The system suddenly jumped out with the prompt message. "The host has triggered a side quest: receive a pet training order. Collect or not?"
Su Ping was taken aback. This quest was a surprise. Immediately, he collected it in his mind.
"Successful!"
"Quest introduction: compete the first pet training order perfectly and get a good review from the customer."
"Quest requirement: any service provided by the store must be the best of the best! The host must train the pet and double the original combat strength data!"
"Training time limit: the customer has no such requirement."
"Completed quest reward: three elementary 'Force Pellets'."
Su Ping was speechless once he read the requirements.
To double the pet's combat strength?
The Lightning Rat's combat strength was rated 3.6 already. To double it, the combat strength would have to be 7.2, right?
That would be a pet that could compare to a seventh ranker!
Seventh rank pets were advanced pets and they were few and far between. The ones that could control advanced pets were advanced battle pet warriors who were considered outstanding among pioneering rangers.
Presently, was he supposed to train a low-rank Lightning Rat to that degree?
…
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Chapter 26: Not For Sale
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"Hmm. Interesting."
There were some things Su Ping was eager to blurt out.
At the same time, he noticed the reward for this quest. He asked in his mind, "What is this 'Force Pellet'?"
"A kind of elementary pellet that battle pet warriors should take. They are only effective to battle pet warriors of the third rank and below and can help cultivate astral power," the system stated.
Su Ping raised his eyebrows. The cultivation of astral power was a nice bonus.
Anyways, he had accepted the mission so he had to finish it.
He turned his attention to the matter at hand. Su Ping looked at the two girls and remembered something from their conversation. Su Ping asked, "Apart from the 'training' service, do you need boarding services? If your pets have suffered minor injuries, healing can be accelerated if you put them in our boarding service."
This came as a surprise for Su Yanying. "Sir, you can cure wounds here?"
"Only minor wounds," Su Ping stressed.
"Why didn't you say so? If the boarding service includes healing, then it is worthwhile."
Su Yanying was interested. Although the healers she invited estimated that her pets would recover on the very first day of the second round of matches, their estimation might have been wrong. It would be troublesome if anything were to go amiss.
On the other hand, if she were to hire another healer, that would cost her a fortune ranging in the tens of thousands.
Su Ping smiled.
He didn't mention this because the small treatment effects that came with the nursing pen were not worth mentioning compared to the benefit of the constitution and power of understanding enhancement. He had not realized that this could be a selling point.
"But, I don't think I have so much money with me…" Su Yanying was about to place the order when she remembered she didn't have much money left after paying for the Lightning Rat's training fee.
"It's okay. I will lend you some." Lan Lele took out her purse. Might as well; she could never stop this good friend of hers. She decided to chip in this bet.
She believed that the store would not be bold enough to fleece them without providing any service in return. If such were the case, she wasn't a person to be messed with.
Su Ping rolled his eyes grumpily as he sensed the anger and hostility coming from this girl. He felt distressed since he had to pay one energy point every day for maintenance. Otherwise, he would not be in the mood to solicit business.
He was the only one who really knew about the excellent quality of the products and services provided by the system. He was still sustaining losses with those prices. People would have to wait in line for the pet boarding service after building up a name for the store!
"My good Lele, I will pay you back as soon as I save enough money!" Su Yanying offered a broad and sincere smile.
Lan Lele hurried her, "Alright now. Pick your pets. We have to go back early."
"Sure."
Su Yanying did not waste time. The astral power that was in light blue converged at her fingertips. She pointed her finger to a space on the side and a purple figure jumped out from the contract space and landed on the ground, looking over. It was none other than the Lightning Rat.
The Lightning Rat blinked as it found itself in this familiar place. It looked up and saw that smiling human face behind the counter.
At this moment, some clips of unforgettable memories surged over.
"Hiss!"
The Lightning Rat was showing its teeth, as though confronted by a formidable enemy. Electric arcs were flashing all over its body.
Su Yanjing was surprised by this fit of fear and the feeling of unrest coming from the Lightning Rat. Puzzled, she tried to comfort it at once.
Su Ping raised his eyebrows. The little thing was reacting very strongly; that time must have been unforgettable.
A moment later, the Lightning Rat finally calmed down with Su Yanying's comfort. That being said, the Lightning Rat was still curled up by her feet, on high alert.
"Come on out, Fallen Phoenix," Su Yanying called out another pet.
A blazing flame emerged out of thin air. A firebird that was the size of half a human came into being, exuding heat without restraint as it was completely bathed in fire.
"Is this a Fallen Phoenix, a pet with an advanced bloodline?"
Su Ping found this interesting. This was a precious bird but presently, it was only at the upper position of the third rank, with an aptitude rated as poor and combat strength of 4.2. This bird could fight those at a higher rank if it exerted great efforts.
The other one was an Ugly Stone Beast which looked like an oddly shaped rock. This pet was also of an intermediate bloodline, currently at the lower position of the fourth rank with a combat strength of 4.3 and an aptitude rated as poor.
"These are the three." Su Yanying didn't summon any more pets.
The three pets stood inside the store and made the already small storefront feel even more crowded.
Su Ping told himself that once he made enough money, the first thing would be to upgrade the size of the store. In the future, when people came to leave their advanced pets, every single one of them would be large; some would be a dozen meters tall, others even dozens of meters tall. He was afraid that this store would not be big enough to hold them.
"Three pets. A three-day stay for them would be 21,600." Su Ping did the calculation quickly.
"Sir, can you round it up and forget about the small change?" Lan Lele said before she paid.
Su Ping answered coldly, "No discounts."
"I knew it." Lan Lele pouted and snorted. She wired the money quickly.
After the money entered his account, Su Ping gave them the receipt and asked, "Do you need anything else?"
"No, nothing else." Su Yanying had no more money and she couldn't ask her friend to pay more for her.
Lan Lele looked around and asked, baffled, "Isn't this a pet store? Why don't I see any pets for sale?"
"There aren't any pets for sale at the moment," Su Ping said.
"A pet store that doesn't sell pets?" Lan Lele's face wore a funny look.
Su Yanying found this answer intriguing as well. This entire store reeked of mystery.
"Alright. We have concluded our business. Let's go." Lan Lele did not linger. She was ready to leave at once.
Su Yanying comforted her pets for a bit, unwilling to be parted from them. Before she left, she stressed, "Sir, please take good care of them for me."
"Don't worry," Su Ping's reply was in such a mild tone that it didn't seem convincing at all.
Su Yanying opened her mouth, trying to say something else. Yet, after thinking that three days would zip right by, she held down that urge. She turned around and stepped away.
After they left, Su Ping took the pets to the pet room in the back. Lucky for him, the pet room door was wide enough; it was a sliding door with a 4 meter clearance, large enough for the large Fanged Tiger to go through.
"System, I need to buy another elementary nursing pen," Su Ping said to the system.
"Sure," The system agreed.
-10 energy points.
Space twisted for a while in an empty place in the pet room; a moment after, an elementary nursing pen came out from nowhere.
Su Ping had become inured to the unusual powers of the system. Taking a look at the size of the nursing pen, he suddenly began to wonder if the large Stone Beast could fit in such a small space.
"The host doesn't have to worry. The space inside the nursing pens are independent from ours. Pets of all sizes can fit in," the system explained.
Su Ping was relieved. Fortunately, the system was freakishly outstanding.
He carried out the little skeleton and the Managarm that were sleeping in the two old nursing pens and made the three pets walk into the vacant ones. The three pets shrank down as they stepped into the nursing pens. The half-a-human sized Fallen Phoenix looked like a fiery red canary.
As for that Fanged Tiger with a length of six to seven meters long, it shrank down to the size of a regular dog, only the tiger spots were still visible.
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Chapter 27: Second Rank Breeding
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The Little Skeleton and the Managarm had woken up. Both were bewildered after noticing that their spots had been taken.
Su Ping looked at the Managarm. This was a pet left in the boarding service that would end the next day. By then, its master would come to pick it up.
Since that customer paid for the regular boarding service, the Managarm would have to step away from the nursing pen.
The system suddenly commented with a severe tone, "All the pets left in your care must stay in nursing pens and cannot be left outside. The host must purchase another nursing pen for the Managarm at once."
Su Ping was taken aback. "But that person only paid for the regular service back then."
"How can an owner of a pet store have zero compassion for pets?"
"…If you're so compassionate, why don't you give me some for free?"
"…Warning! Profanity alert."
"When did I swear, I #¥…"
"…Warning! Second profanity alert."
"…"
Su Ping cooled himself down in an instant.
Inhale, and exhale…
Su Ping had gotten over the fact that he was going to spend money. It was merely 10 energy points. Given his savings, he could afford it. Besides, the Managarm was going to be picked up the next day. He would have to add more nursing pens sooner or later.
"I'll just pretend that I paid the one energy point maintenance fee out of my pocket today."
Su Ping heaved a sigh. He could only make about a hundred coins with the boarding of this Managarm. At the moment, it would practically be as if he were taking care of it for free for another person.
Fortunately, this would never happen again.
He chose to buy the nursing pen; soon enough, another one appeared out of thin air.
"Go on." Su Ping let the drooling Managarm enter the pen.
The Little Skeleton: "??"
Su Ping crouched down and patted the Little Skeleton's head who was standing on the side, baffled. He accidentally used too much strength and snapped its head off.
Su Ping blushed with embarrassment as he quickly placed its little head back on.
He was relieved after seeing that the bones were set properly. The Little Skeleton was his pet and it didn't have to stay in a nursing pen. On this front, the system did not have any requirements.
"I will buy one for you later, when I get extra energy points," Su Ping said to the Little Skeleton.
Since the Little Skeleton was his, he could not let it suffer. It also had to enjoy comfort.
The Little Skeleton seemed to be able to understand him. It nodded clumsily.
Su Ping smiled at it and went back to the lounge. He took a look at his energy points; he made over 300 that day, and adding the hundred and something left from before, he had a bit over 400 energy points, quite the wealth.
"Upgrade the Chaos Spirit Pool," Su Ping said.
A hundred points were deducted at once.
At the same time, the Spirit Pool that used to look like a dried well began to give out a radiating glow around its edge. Some strange lines appeared on the edge by the time the glow vanished. They looked like ancient runes.
"Pool upgraded to the second rank."
Su Ping was pleased. One part per ten million of chaos aura could be imported into the second rank Spirit Pool; there was a chance that a pet of advanced Bloodline could be bred!
After all, every pet with an advanced bloodline could be sold on the market for hundreds of thousands at the very least, and the best ones would be worth tens of millions and even hundreds of millions!
Even though the store could not sell pets at the moment, Su Ping thought he could breed one and rent it. That would be a large source of income as well!
"Initiate breeding?"
"Yes."
"One hundred energy points for breeding. Please confirm."
"…"
Su Ping didn't realize that the expense for breeding was ten times higher after the Spirit Pool was upgraded. Being the case, he only had enough energy points for three rounds of breeding!
After a moment of hesitation, Su Ping made up his mind and confirmed.
"Activating Chaos Spirit Pool…"
The dry-looking Spirit Pool gleamed slightly, and there seemed to be starlight gathering at the bottom.
A moment later, the Spirit Pool returned to its original state. Nothing happened.
A message appeared above the Spirit Pool. "Breeding failed."
Su Ping was dumbfounded.
"Failed?
"The breeding failed?"
"When chaos aura forms life, there is a small chance that the process will fail," the system explained.
Su Ping received a nasty shock. That was to say, he had wasted one hundred energy points for nothing, right?
Words popped out above the Spirit Pool again. "Continue Breeding?"
Su Ping came back to his senses. His eyes reddened. Those were one hundred energy points, converted from ten thousand coins, and all of it was gone in a puff!
"Try again!" Su Ping bit his teeth, making a determined effort.
After the energy was injected, the Chaos Spirit Pool once again began to gleam. Su Ping kept his eyes wide open and checked when the light was about to dim down.
All he saw was an egg in milk-white color floating above the Spirit Pool quietly.
"!!"
Su Ping was shocked. An egg? The pool could generate an egg?
His identification spell failed in the egg as well. He could not tell what was in it.
"Please collect."
While still confused, Su Ping picked up this large egg which felt warm. All of a sudden, he thought of fried eggs. He was getting hungry.
"What kind of egg is this? How do I hatch it?" Su Ping asked the system.
"The host has to deal with it in person," the system passed the buck.
Su Ping curled his lips. He could identify pets but to identify an egg… Was he supposed to pay himself and ask an expert from the Pet Identification Institution to tell him?
On second thought, Su Ping dismissed the idea. He didn't have that much money to spare. To ask an expert to identify it would cost a fortune. He thought he might just as well search the internet for eggs of different pets. Maybe he could solve the mystery.
He placed the egg on the single bed he had put here for napping at noon when he was at the store. He set the egg by the pillow and covered it with the quilt to keep it warm.
Having done this, Su Ping took a look at the Chaos Spirit Pool. He decided to stop trying after hesitating for a moment.
He only had a bit over a hundred energy points left.
Coming up next, he had to finish the main quest, to open up cultivation planes and buy deaths. Those were all places that he had to invest energy points. He had to reach a sort of balance in the savings.
Speaking of the training quest, Su Ping remembered that the system had granted him free access to any cultivation plane for once and unlimited times of deaths when he was defending the name of the store!
"I can use this chance to finish my main quest and the training quest."
Su Ping was gloating as he left the lounge. The Lightning Rat was hiding behind the counter. He waved to the Lightning Rat while wearing an ear-to-ear grin. "Here, come on. Come over here."
The Lightning Rat was frizzly from fear. It was even using the "Thunder Cloak" skill. Its fur was like steel needles with electric charges. The Lightning Rat gave Su Ping a fierce look, turning quite hostile.
Somehow the Little Skeleton had sensed the hostile intention from the Lightning Rat. All of a sudden, the Little Skeleton stumbled over to Su Ping's front.
The Little Skeleton clenched its fist like a fighter in defense. It looked at the Lightning Rat with its hollow eyes; there was a thickening blood-red color in those dark, empty spaces.
Su Ping was surprised. He never thought the little thing would come forward to protect him.
He froze when he felt the tension, anxiety, and a bit of fierceness in the Little Skeleton's consciousness.
After falling into silence for a while, Su Ping slowly picked up the Little Skeleton, then he walked to the door and pulled the shutter door down.
The light in the store dimmed instantly.
Su Ping went back to the counter and pulled up the window of the cultivation plane.
"System, can I bring both pets into the same cultivation plane?" Su Ping asked.
"The host can only bring pets with contracts built into the cultivation plane. If the host wants to take the customer's pets for training, please buy a temporary contract," the system replied.
"Temporary contract?"
The interface of the shop popped out immediately. The slot for the "Awakening Potion" was gone and in its place was a golden scroll that had the words "Temporary Contract" written on it, with a price of ten energy points.
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"…"
This price caught Su Ping by surprise.
This was to say that, in the future, every time he went to train a pet, he would have to pay 10 energy points first?
"I have to buy a temporary contract, chances to die, and opening up a cultivation plane also needs money. At this rate…" Su Ping's mouth twitched. Was he being exploited?
He felt lucky that he didn't go on with the breeding and kept the last hundred or so energy points. Otherwise, he would be unable to afford this trip.
"Will the temporary contract exert an influence on the pet's real master when I use it?" While he could anticipate the answer to his question, Su Ping thought he'd better ask just to be safe.
"The temporary contract will be overlaid on the astral power contract, and will not affect the pet master's contract, nor will it be noticed," the system answered indifferently.
"Good."
Su Ping chose to buy it when all concerns were cleared up.
When the energy was deducted, Su Ping saw a golden scroll appearing out of nowhere in the storage space floating on his sea of awareness.
After focusing his mind, the golden scroll fell into his hand.
The scroll used for the temporary contract was very soft, and Su Ping felt as if he were holding a cloud of mist. There was nothing rough on the paper.
"How does this thing work?" Su Ping tossed and turned it.
"Add a drop of blood from the person who will establish the contract and then stick it to the pet that is going to enter the contract," the system answered.
Su Ping understood. He turned around and looked at the Lightning Rat who was hiding in the shades; he smiled, presumably in a way that would make him look harmless. "Come on, good boy."
The Lightning Rat freaked out at once. That smile was so strange that it had to be from a nightmare.
Whoosh!
The Lightning Rat dashed away instantly into the pet room in the back.
Su Ping froze for a moment and immediately chased after the Lightning Rat.
The pet room had been cleaned and cleared out by the system, so the Lightning Rat's hiding place was visible. The Lightning Rat was hiding next to the nursing pen of the Fanged Tiger. The former's fur was covered with electricity as it menacingly showed its teeth at Su Ping.
Su Ping thought that the Lighting Rat was getting serious as he saw the hostility in its eyes.
This little thing was not an average Lightning Rat and Su Ping had no powerful battle pets to deal with it.
"Was that experience so horrifying…?" Su Ping mumbled to himself. He frowned and looked at the Lightning Rat for a while. The latter didn't seem to loosen up for one bit. Maybe his presence would only make the Lightning Rat more nervous because he would be a reminder of that bitter memory.
After some thought, Su Ping closed the door and went back to the counter to have a look.
He saw a bottle of pet food: Thunder Particles.
They were taken from a plant that was like an ear of wheat, and there were dozens of them, each sold at more than fifty coins.
"The Thunder Particles are rich in thunder force and will explode in fire. Thunder Particles are food loved by pets of the thunder family…" Su Ping smiled a light smile and took out one Thunder Particle. Then, he bit his finger and smeared the blood on a corner of the contract.
Then, he went back to the betting room and opened the door slowly, only to see the Lightning Rat who was sprawled on the ground. It stood up at once and glared at him, highly alerted.
Su Ping didn't go and disturb the Lighting Rat. He just placed the contract down on the ground by the door slowly and also placed the Thunder Particle in the middle of the contract.
Having done this, he closed the door. After that, he would have to wait.
While he waited, he didn't plan on idling away. He opened the shutter door open and went back to business.
However, maybe because his store was too out of place, not a single customer came.
Bored, Su Ping began to search for the egg on the internet. He browsed through some major websites of pets but failed to find an egg that was the same. He did find a couple of similar ones, though.
"Sh*t, I cannot look at this section of advanced pets without signing up for a membership?"
"I'm supposed to pay?"
Su Ping closed the page in indignation.
He then switched to other smaller websites. However, not long afterward, the computer froze and crashed.
"Was I hit by a virus?" Su Ping was speechless. He unplugged the cable quickly, with the intent to restart the computer.
At the moment, he felt that outside of his consciousness came a line that was connected to him. At the same time, another consciousness carried over some happy emotions.
"Did it eat the food?"
Su Ping was surprised for a moment. The second consciousness came from the Lightning Rat in the pet room. From the line of consciousness, Su Ping could sense the Lightning Rat's current location. If they were too far away from each other, the line would be cut off and he would no longer sense the Lightning Rat's presence.
Su Ping forgot about the computer's glitch and went to the pet room. He opened the door and saw the Lightning Rat eating the Thunder Particle it held with both front paws.
The sudden appearance of Su Ping shocked the Lightning Rat who went back to its meal only after throwing a look at him.
With the power of contract, while the Lightning Rat still remembered that mean human being, the familiar feeling that came from the person made it impossible for the Lightning Rat to turn hostile.
"Little guy, time to go."
Su Ping grinned. He picked up this little guy by its neck and went back to the counter. He placed the Lightning Rat on the counter along with the little skeleton and then went to close the shutter door.
"Cultivation window," Su Ping summoned the function with a thought after he returned to the counter.
The cultivation planes window emerged in front of him with ghost-like glows, displaying many cultivation planes listed out for him to choose from.
"The best, the most expensive!" Su Ping moved to the column of "top" cultivation planes directly. The number of cultivation planes in this column was small in number but all of them were the best!
The lowest entry charge was 1000 energy points and the most expensive one would cost 10,000 energy points!
"Compared to this, the Thunder Cloud Realm would appear insignificant…"
Su Ping browsed the cultivation planes. There was a certain "Archean Divinity" that would cost 9000 energy points.
A certain "Realm of Asura" would cost 3000 energy points.
There was another "Medieval Land" that needed 5000 energy points.
"Tut-tut…"
Just by looking at the names of the cultivation planes, Su Ping could tell that those were amazing places. In particular, there was this Archean Divinity. It was the Divinity! Was it the place where deities lived?
Su Ping's mind had been opened after he witnessed the marvels of the Thunder Cloud Realm. He would believe it if someone were to tell him that there were deities in the world.
"The length of stay in all of the top-level cultivation planes is for one day. If the length of stay surpasses a day, then either the host will be forcefully logged out, or he would have double the energy points deducted. If the length of stay is over two days, then three times the energy points will be deducted…"
Su Ping read the introductions. He had an idea. "You gave me a chance to visit any cultivation plane for five days. That can be used in those top-level cultivation planes, right?" He asked the system.
A moment of silence later, he heard the system's gloomy voice, "Yes."
Su Ping couldn't help but snap his finger. He was about to jump up in excitement.
If he were to enter a cultivation plane like the "Archean Divinity," he would have to spend forty to fifty thousand energy points for five days!
But thanks to his reward, it would be free!
"It is incredible to be able to stay in any top-level cultivation plane for five days with no strings attached!"
Su Ping was rejoicing with wild excitement. This reward was awesome!
It took him a long while to calm down but he was still worked up.
Wasn't it a sure thing that he could finish the main quest if he stayed in any top-level cultivation plane for five days?
If he couldn't finish the quest with such favorable conditions, then he would have to say that the main quest was not reasonable!
"It is a pity that given my current abilities, the harvest is limited when I go to such a top-level cultivation plane. The ticket's value cannot be put into full play."
Su Ping felt sorry. He could only walk along the edge in such a top-level cultivation plane. Any being from such a plane could easily give him a bashing.
"That being said, this is a chance that comes once in a blue moon. I must enjoy my days there, while I pick up some pet food along the way!"
Su Ping was quite satisfied with the reward this time. He wondered if he should call more people over to make trouble, so that more ad hoc quests like this could be triggered. On the other hand, he believed that the system would not let him exploit an advantage. Of course, that was part of a story to be told later.
Su Ping scrolled down the list several times. Taking the little skeleton into consideration, he soon selected a cultivation plane—Chaotic Realm of the Undead!
The energy points required to enter this cultivation plane were the same as with the "Archean Divinity," at 9000 points!
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"Confirm?"
The system had to verify since Su Ping had selected one of the first-tier cultivation planes of the top level.
"Of course." Su Ping grinned.
"As you wish."
The system had barely finished its reply when Su Ping found himself spinning into a pitch-dark swirl. He felt his body and his soul separate.
When he regained consciousness, he heard the familiar voice of the system.
"Host has established connection with the 'Chaotic Realm of the Undead'."
"Length of connection, five days…"
"Unlimited number of deaths are granted during this connection…"
"Please head out on your own…"
Su Ping came back to his senses. As he opened his eyes, a crimson view leaped into his sight.
Three massive scarlet moons were hanging in the sky, turning the dark cosmic vault into a brilliant red. Looking from where he was standing, he could faintly see the surface of the crimson moons. There seemed to be streaks of darkness that appeared to be tiny flying insects.
Yet, considering the actual distance between him and the moons, he could only imagine how horribly large the actual size of those tiny dark streaks were!
"Woo…"
He sensed some fear and heard a plaintive whine. Su Ping looked down. The Lightning Rat was curled up by his foot, shivering in fear and looking around nervously.
Su Ping began to check the surroundings as well. His heart almost stopped with just a quick look.
What a hellish view this was!
The strange trees were like human limbs, twisted strangely. The grey withered grass that could be found across the land were wiggling willfully as if they contained a strong vitality!
He was standing at the edge of a desolate, dead wood, where it seemed to have rained, and in front of him were puddles of water with strange worms, like maggots, swimming in them, and a lot of remains and bones lay scattered in the grass by the side of the road.
As far as his sight could reach, this was a world where no life could be seen.
The red sky and the dark world both reeked of death and desperation.
While Su Ping was still in a daze, all of a sudden, he felt both the Little Skeleton and the Lightning Rat become alerted. Compared to the Little Skeleton, there was an addition of fear in the consciousness of the Lightning Rat.
Su Ping looked over. He saw that two human-shaped figures were loafing over from the sparse woods.
As they came closer, Su Ping could distinguish that the two figures were two skeletons that were about three meters tall. Stooping, they walked with difficulty. It was more like that they were wiggling.
Su Ping's heart pumped faster. Remembering that he had the benefit of unlimited deaths, his confidence was boosted. He gave out the attack command to the two little guys at once.
Crack, crack.
Upon receiving the order, the Little Skeleton staggered over, as if death was of no consequence.
On the other hand, the Lightning Rat was resisting. It was still crouching by Su Ping's feet. The Lightning Rat knew that this person was despicable but in this strange environment, the human was the only being that it could rely on.
"This timid?"
Su Ping was surprised. He was not afraid because he knew he would not die but this little thing had no such knowledge. It was only natural that the Lightning Rat would be scared.
This was a problem.
Soon, Su Ping remembered the battle pet warrior skill book he had picked up. He clapped his hands. Why did he forget about that?
He thought of it and that skill book fell into his hands from his storage space.
Killing intent!
Two sharply drawn words were on the cover of this skill book.
Su Ping opened the book to study it without hesitation.
When he opened the book, the skill book transformed into golden sparkles that merged into his body. The next second, Su Ping felt a large amount of information swarming out. When he sorted out the information, he realized that he had mastered the skill.
"Killing intent!"
Su Ping cast the skill on the Lightning Rat at once.
It was as if some faint substance flowed into the Lightning Rat through the bonds of the contract.
The next moment, the previously jittery Lightning Rat was suddenly filled with a thirst for blood and violence. Its eyes were red and it showed its sharp teeth. With tremendous force, the Lightning Rat dashed toward the two human-shaped skeletons.
When the Lightning Rat dashed out, Su Ping felt mentally exhausted, as if his mind had expended vast amounts of energy.
At the moment, the Lightning Rat had run past the Little Skeleton and arrived near the two human-shaped skeletons at the speed of lightning. The first move Lightning Rat resorted to was the strongest of all, Thunder Slash!
Lightning hovered above its head violently and in an instant, it was compressed into a sword of lightning. The sword moved toward one of the human-shaped skeletons.
The two human-shaped skeletons were wiggling slowly but the moment that the Lightning Rat hopped up to attack, the two skeletons came to their senses. Two streaks of red light shot out from their hollowed eye sockets. The next second, they swung their bodies violently and their sickle-like hands landed heavily on the thunder blade above the Lightning Rat's head.
With a bang, the Lightning Rat was repelled.
That human-shaped skeleton's arm was smoking and burning but the injury was minor. It was as if the skeleton could feel pain. The skeleton howled and ran to the Lightning Rat wildly.
Whoosh!
The human-shaped skeleton was running at an incredible speed, which was utterly different from when it was wiggling about. In an instant, the skeleton had caught up with the Lightning Rat and along the way, the skeleton stamped on the Little Skeleton that had dashed over.
Crack!
The sound of the broken bones was extremely crisp.
The connection of consciousness with the Little Skeleton in Su Ping's mind was cut off.
"Revive pet on the spot?"
"Yes!" Su Ping said at once.
The Little Skeleton was too weak and was merely at the first rank. The Severed Limb Reassemble skill could enable the Little Skeleton to set a broken bone. But the Little Skeleton could not recover if it was crushed into pieces.
After Su Ping gave his answer, the Little Skeleton reassembled on the spot soon and came back to life. But one second later, the Little Skeleton was stamped into pieces by the second human-shaped skeleton.
"…"
Su Ping chose to revive the Little Skeleton on the spot again.
The Little Skeleton stood up on the spot at once. It took a look around and saw where the two human-shaped skeletons were headed to. Instantly, the Little Skeleton went after them, staggering along.
At the same time, the moment the human-shaped skeleton reached it, the Lightning Rat released Thunder Cloak. Its hair was standing on its root since the electric arcs crackled around its body. In the meantime, another Lightning Rat split out and it ran toward the other side of the human-shaped skeleton.
Thunder Shadow Image!
That human-shaped skeleton did not understand what was going on and was still hacking toward the first Lightning Rat with its arm.
Bang!
The first Lightning Rat was smashed into pieces but it formed a ball of the residual thunderbolt that exploded on the human-shaped skeleton's arm, inflicting considerable harm. That thunder power defused much of the dark, foul air surrounding the human-shaped skeleton as well.
The moment the shadow image collapsed, the real Lightning Rat came out and aimed at the human-shaped skeleton's neck with Thunder Slash!
However.
The human-shaped skeleton reacted even faster.
At this critical time, the skeleton twisted around with a huge boost in its speed and swung its other arm at the Lightning Rat.
Thunder Flash!
The moment the Lightning Rat was hit, it disappeared. It hopped over the human-shaped skeleton's arm and the Thunder Slash landed on the human-shaped skeleton's face.
Bang!
The human-shaped skeleton's head was smashed to the side with its neck almost cut off. Its head was about to fall.
However, before the Lightning Rat could initiate the second attack, another human-shaped skeleton followed through. It reached out its withered, sharp claw and tore the Lightning Rat into pieces!
Blood spurted out when the Lightning Rat's body fell to the ground.
Such an intense moment happened in the split of a second.
Su Ping's heart pounded as he saw this view in the distance. When he saw that the Lightning Rat was killed, he chose to bring it back to life at once.
In less than a second after the body touched the ground, it came into being again amid sparkles.
The instinct kicked in when the Lightning Rat sensed danger after it was brought back to life. The Lightning Rat hopped away at once, distancing itself from the human-shaped skeleton.
When the Lightning Rat had a clear visual of the surroundings, the Lightning Rat's hair stood up and it turned around and began to run at once.
Su Ping pulled a long face and initiated the "killing intent" immediately.
The Lightning Rat, who was halfway through its escape, stopped at once. It turned around, grimacing, and dashed toward the human-shaped skeleton again.
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"Focus on one skeleton first!"
Su Ping passed along his intention through the contract. Most of the time, battle pet warriors were the brains of the team and they had to make clear judgments during combat.
At this cultivation site, not only the pets were trained, Su Ping himself was benefiting from the experience.
Whoosh!
The Lightning Rat released a Thunder Shadow Image at once. The two Lightning Rats were running toward the injured human-shaped skeleton.
While the "killing intent" could induce a crazed state in the Lightning Rat, it could still receive its master's intention with precision.
The human-shaped skeleton was a bit surprised as it looked at the Lightning Rat coming over again, wondering how this prey could come back to life so quickly. Yet, given its simple mind, the human-shaped skeleton did not probe further into the matter. When the Lightning Rats were close, the human-shaped skeleton dashed toward one of them.
Whoosh!
The skeleton waved its sickle-like arm.
Thunder Flash!
In that fatal moment, the Lightning Rat used the Thunder Flash, which was rare, and dodged away from this strike.
After landing, the Lightning Rat jumped up again and used the Thunder Slash to hack the skeleton.
Bang!
The second human-shaped skeleton charged toward the Lightning Rat from the side. With a wave of its arm, the skeleton smashed the Lightning Rat into the ground and the latter died on the spot.
"Revive."
Su Ping decided in no time.
The Lightning Rat was brought back to life at once. Yet, the "killing intent" had been dismissed automatically. After a second with its mind unfocused, the first instinct that kicked in was to run away.
The two human-shaped skeletons could kill the Lightning Rat with any random attack, which made the Lightning Rat sense danger and horror.
Su Ping had to use "killing intent" again in this case.
This time, he had a clear feeling that something was being pulled out from him. The moment he used the skill, his sight was blurred and his consciousness was also foggy. He could not help but fall on his face.
"Are three skill releases the maximum I can handle? Do I have to recover by killing myself?"
Su Ping's mind was functioning with difficulty. In his sight, several figures were mixed. He could no longer tell if they were the human-shaped skeletons or the strange trees around. Everything was shaking and he was seeing double.
Su Ping clenched his teeth. Relying on the last piece of willpower, he crawled up from the ground and dragged himself forward.
He only had one goal, to die.
He did not know how many steps he took or how long he had walked before a strong force landed on his head. He was assaulted by the sharp pain instantly.
In the next second, Su Ping's consciousness returned to the dark space, and the options of revival popped out.
Su Ping's consciousness that had almost dried up returned with full vitality. Su Ping chose to revive on the spot at once.
The darkness faded away and the surrounding view quickly re-emerged. He saw that the two human-shaped skeletons were bending over their bodies a few meters away, each with half of the Lightning Rat in their hands, eating.
By their feet was the shattered body of the Little Skeleton.
The sudden appearance of Su Ping shocked both of the human-shaped skeletons. They both turned around slowly.
"Revive!" "Revive!"
Su Ping brought the Lightning Rat and Little Skeleton back to life immediately.
While they were being brought back to life, Su Ping saw one of the human-shaped skeletons dashing toward him. With a body more than three meters tall, the human-shaped skeleton looked dreadful. It went without saying that Su Ping was torn apart before he could ward off the blows.
"Revive!"
The moment the pain came over, it disappeared without a trace.
Darkness emerged. Su Ping chose to revive again. After he came back to life, he saw the two human-shaped skeletons chasing the Lightning Rat while the Little Skeleton was running after the two human-shaped skeletons; only the Little Skeleton was falling behind.
"Killing intent!"
Su Ping initiated his skill at once.
When the Lightning Rat's battle rage was rekindled, Su Ping instructed the Lightning Rat to use Thunder Shadow Image to distract the other human-shaped skeletons with one of the Lightning Rats so that the real Lightning Rat would have the chance to launch a strike at the injured human-shaped skeleton.
"Fight!"
"Thunder Flash!"
Su Ping was determined to make the Lightning Rat fight till the end of its life; even if it were to die again, it had to inflict a mark on the human-shaped skeleton.
Fortunately, the Lightning Rat had mastered an advanced pet skill, "Thunder Flash." With the help of temporary teleportation, the Lightning Rat could escape from the human-shaped skeleton's strike at a close call. The Lightning Rat would dash to the other side of the human-shaped skeleton and cause harm to it.
Su Ping brought the Lightning Rat back to life again and again. After two rounds of "killing intent", Su Ping asked the Lightning Rat to lure the human-shaped skeleton to him in the fight. After the Lightning Rat died again, Su Ping used the "killing intent" for the third time, and in the meantime, he also tried his hand against the human-shaped skeleton as well.
A cycle of life and death was repeated over and over.
After a long time, Su Ping realized that he was no longer as tired as before after the third application of "killing intent." He could manage to see the surroundings and his body seemed to be adjusting with repeated exhaustion.
Crack!
An arm of the human-shaped skeleton was torn off. The dark, foul air was thinning down until there were only a few strands left.
The human-shaped skeleton tore apart the Lightning Rat and used a strand of the dark, foul air to reset the broken arm that had fallen to the ground.
"Revive!"
After seven or eight times of revival, the Lightning Rat had finally exhausted the dark, foul air in this human-shaped skeleton. After another strike of Thunder Slash that cut off the human-shaped skeleton's head, the human-shaped skeleton fell apart all of a sudden, falling to the ground and lying still permanently.
"Is it dead…?" Su Ping looked at the remains on the ground. He was relieved and at the same time, pleasantly surprised.
The Lightning Rat had cut off the limbs and the head of the human-shaped skeleton and even hacked its remains into pieces, but the human-shaped skeleton could use its dark, foul air to recover its body. It was practically immortal.
Su Ping would have given up on killing the two human-shaped skeletons if it weren't for the fact that he had noticed the effects of the Lightning Rat's thunder: it could contain the human-shaped skeleton and each time, the lightning and thunder power could reduce the dark, foul air.
Having successfully dealt with one human-shaped skeleton, Su Ping could see the dawn of victory. He instructed the Lightning Rat to attack the other one at once.
Right at that moment…
Su Ping suddenly sensed a desire coming from the Little Skeleton. He looked over with surprise. Unknowingly, the Little Skeleton had moved near the scattered remains of a human-shaped skeleton. The Little Skeleton was bending over and checking the remains.
"Do you want to eat it?"
Su Ping was taken aback by this idea.
He then remembered that pets of the demon family would evolve by catching and feeding off of their kindred, and skeletons were no exception to this. They mainly progressed by eating their peer's remains.
The other way was to suck the power of the undead!
"Go ahead."
Su Ping gave his permission and was looking forward to seeing the result.
With Su Ping's approval, the Little Skeleton began to look through the scattered remains and bones. The Little Skeleton picked up several ribs and then threw them away after checking. Later, the Little Skeleton picked up another piece of bone that looked like a finger. The Little Skeleton observed it for a while and then, all of a sudden, pulled one of its own ribs out and stuffed this finger bone back in to take the place of the original rib.
The size of the finger bone was similar to its original rib.
After the replacement, some dark energy surged from the Little Skeleton. That finger bone was set with a clipping sound. The bone fit smoothly and had become a new part of the Little Skeleton.
…
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Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Having picked out that finger bone, the Little Skeleton fumbled through the pile of remains once more, to dig out some other short bones that looked like sharp teeth to replace its original knees and arms. Those bones became part of the Little Skeleton with the help of the dark energy.
While the Little Skeleton was selecting appropriate bones, the Lightning Rat was fighting a bitter fight.
Thanks to the diversion created by the "Thunder Shadow Image," the Lightning Rat was snatched from the jaws of death several times. That being said, every time the Lightning Rat came close to the human-shaped skeleton, the latter would sense the former's presence and react swiftly and violently.
Relying on the "Thunder Flash," the Lightning Rat could teleport and appear at difficult corners to unleash a Thunder Slash. However, whenever the Lightning Rat managed to hit its target, the human-shaped skeleton would quickly tear the Lightning Rat apart.
One life for another!
The gap in abilities between the Lightning Rat and the human-shaped skeleton was significant. Normally, the Lightning Rat would not stand a chance against the human-shaped skeleton.
It was fortunate that Su Ping could bring the Lightning Rat back to life endlessly. As long as the Lightning Rat could inflict harm on its enemy, the latter would be tortured to death sooner or later.
The human-shaped skeleton was ferocious but its intelligence was low. Taking advantage of the revivals, the Lightning Rat had been depleting the human skeleton's energy but the latter did not stop nor intend to flee.
A few minutes later.
Over half of the dark, foul air around the human-shaped skeleton had been reduced and the skeleton was moving slowly with less precision than before.
At this moment, Su Ping perceived an intense fighting desire from the Little Skeleton. In the next moment, all Su Ping could see was a small, black figure hurrying toward the battlefield.
Su Ping fixed his eyes on the dark figure. It was the Little Skeleton.
But the Little Skeleton was different from before. Its height was the same but now it was surrounded by the dark air. Its arms, knees and other bones were sharper and darker.
The biggest difference was how fast the Little Skeleton could run.
Before, the Little Skeleton had to stumble around. At the moment, it was walking with flying feet, almost as fast as the Lightning Rat.
The human-shaped skeleton was being badgered by the two Lightning Rats. Disturbed by the Thunder Shadow Image, the human-shaped skeleton had lost its bearings. When the Little Skeleton joined the fight, the human-shaped skeleton felt something. It turned around, let out a bellow, and charged toward the Little Skeleton.
The Little Skeleton was not something that could be ignored or stamped to death anymore.
Faced with the human-shaped skeleton, the Little Skeleton turned around and avoided the strike with considerable agility. It escaped the first strike, only to be smashed into pieces by the human-shaped skeleton that waved its other arm in a very tricky position!
Among all the skeleton bones scattered on the ground, several pieces were quite firm. They were still intact after falling to the ground.
Alerted by the system, Su Ping knew that the Little Skeleton had died and could not reassemble. So, he had to choose to revive it.
Even though the Little Skeleton lost its life within seconds, compared with before, it had already progressed notably.
With the help of the Lightning Rat shadow, the frantic Lightning Rat attacked quickly. Several Thunder Slashes landed on the human-shaped skeleton, diminishing a large amount of the dark, foul air.
Five minutes later, with the concerted efforts of the Little Skeleton and the Lightning Rat, the human-shaped skeleton was slain, releasing its dark, foul air.
The Little Skeleton began to scavenge for pieces among the remains. Worn out, the Lightning Rat and Su Ping sat by the side to have a rest.
Whoosh!
All of a sudden, a breeze was felt.
Su Ping checked the surroundings as he enjoyed his rest. All of a sudden, he noticed some darkness surging over from the depth of the woods.
When the darkness was hundreds of meters away from him, he realized it was a dark tide!
Shrieks and howls seemed to come from the billowing black waves of smoke. Some horrifying figures floating around in the dark smoke were faintly visible.
"What is that?" Su Ping was startled.
The next second, the tide swept across.
Su Ping felt chills all over his body and his life was being drained. Right after, he appeared in the dark revival space.
"Revival on the spot!"
Su Ping did not choose to revive at another random place because the dark smoke's nature piqued his interest.
As soon as he was brought back to life, he saw the black smoke was still spreading. Before he could observe closely, he once again felt a chill creeping over and then found himself in the revival space a second time.
"Revive!"
Su Ping decided to stay on the spot. He refused to be misled by fallacies.
After more than a dozen revivals, when Su Ping could breathe again, he heard a gentle 'gee' sound coming from the dark smoke.
A moment later, the dark smoke suddenly dispersed. Su Ping saw a ghost-like figure flying over. The face belonged to a breathtaking beauty; she was completely flawless, the most beautiful girl that Su Ping had ever seen.
However, from her chest down, the girl's body was made up of dried bones. Su Ping thought he could see the blood-red internal organs and dark smoke surges.
The girl in the dark smoke was pale and her delicate face was devoid of emotions. She sized Su Ping up and down. Her green eyes spoke of her interest and exotic charm.
Su Ping was fearless. After all, he would not die for real; there was nothing to fear.
He was also sizing her up and down in a brazen manner. He even wanted to squeeze her body to see if it was tangible after all.
"Cannot be identified?" Su Ping cast an identification spell but saw no information, which intrigued him even more. That was an advanced being.
At the same time, the girl in the dark mist suddenly said something in a strange language that was hard to understand; it sounded like the calling of the undead.
Su Ping could hardly take that information in. He was about to ask when the girl waved her hand and the black haze began to surge over.
Su Ping was in that revival space once again. He still had questions so he revived on the spot at once. He saw that girl again.
The girl was taken aback to see him. That playful look in her eyes deepened. She floated over, stopping very close to Su Ping.
Su Ping blinked and all of a sudden, made a grabbing move toward her chest.
It was soft as mist. To be exact, it was essentially made of mist.
"Gee…"
Just as he finished sighing, Su Ping saw that the girl began to frown. His body temperature dropped and he went back to the revival space.
Luckily, such death was not painful. Still, Su Ping chose to revive on the spot.
The girl was dumbstruck after seeing him appear out of nowhere once more. Slowly, she began to contemplate the situation…
"Do you have intelligence? Can you understand me?" Su Ping asked curiously.
It was rare for him to meet a being that resembled humans. Maybe he could learn something interesting from her.
The black haze girl slowly shifted her sight to him and something seemed to come to her mind. Her eyes glowed in green and she opened her mouth. All of a sudden, Su Ping felt that the heat and energy in his body were transformed into a form of golden energy that floated into her mouth.
Soon, Su Ping lost his life yet again.
Without hesitation, he revived on the spot.
This time, the girl didn't appear to be surprised. She opened her mouth and continued to suck away Su Ping's lifeforce.
Revive! Revive! Revive!
Su Ping repeated the process several times but the girl in the dark haze never stopped and did not reply to his questioning, not even once.
Finally, Su Ping realized that this gal was treating him as an inexhaustible food source!
In a fit of rage, Su Ping decided not to probe further. He chose to revive at a random spot.
Just as he came back to life, Su Ping realized that the view was different from before. He was inside a huge palace.
And yet, the magnificent palace seemed to have been built with massive bones.
…
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"Is this the residence of a higher intelligent life in the Realm of the Undead?"
Su Ping looked at the bone palace curiously. The owner must be out of the ordinary, being able to build a palace to dwell in. Besides, the massive bones that were used to build the palace were towering and grandiose. Su Ping found it hard to picture how horrifying those beings must have been when they were alive!
"Is that the gate…?"
Su Ping stepped forward.
He felt the air was more suffocating than outside and it was deadly still.
The air was thick with the smell of decay and a strange, fishy odor.
He walked only for a dozen meters when he lost his sight. He felt his body being torn apart from within by something out of the void and then he was reduced to nothing.
"Revive."
His sight blacked out and was recovered. Su Ping looked around, searching for the thing that attacked him.
Bang!
His body burst open all of a sudden for yet another time.
"Revive!"
Su Ping recovered as before.
Explode!
"Revive!"
"Damn it…"
Bang!
"Revive!"
This time, just as Su Ping was coming back to life, he saw the space in front of him begin to twist. A mass of dark energy emerged from the whirl, gradually taking the shape of a human being.
This was a tall woman with an insane body shape. The buxom lady was well-endowed, which gave her an enchanting appearance. There was a black charm on her forehead, with a symbol that resembled a fishhook. She was flapping the eight dull black wings that grew from her back, just like a fallen angel depicted in the myths.
Su Ping threw an identification spell on her at once.
Just as he expected, no information came out.
"Eh?" The black-winged lady raised her pretty eyebrows. She looked Su Ping up and down and then, as if to seek confirmation, pointed her finger at him.
Bang!
Su Ping's body exploded.
"Revive!"
The black-winged lady was stunned to see Su Ping recover. Then, she pointed her finger forward. This time, Su Ping was swallowed by a green mass of energy shaped like a skeleton.
Su Ping felt he was melting; he was dissolved until nothing was left.
"Revive!"
Su Ping stood on the spot but his face was dark. That lady was treating him like a guinea pig and was exploring different ways to kill him.
"Hey, can't we have a simple conversation?" Su Ping was furious.
Bang!
He exploded again.
"Revive!"
Su Ping clenched his teeth in hatred. The game was on. That's right. He was filled with wrath and was daring the lady to kill him!
Bang, bang, bang!
After he exploded several times, he heard a surprised "oh" when he came back to life again.
This was a deep, nasal sound that was both light and at the same time, loud enough to echo in the entire palace, like a thunderbolt that could make the entire space tremble.
Su Ping suddenly felt the depths of his soul quiver. His hair was standing on end. This was freakishly terrifying.
His heart was pounding uncontrollably and his blood was surging as he was shivering.
He couldn't see anything but he was simply afraid; something was inducing his fear.
The black-winged angel that was still attempting varied ways to end him was startled by that questioning nasal sound. She turned around at once and bowed, dropping to her knees in the air toward the void in front of her—toward that gate built with white bones at the end of the void.
Su Ping noticed that the black-winged angel was trembling, even her wings were shaking.
Whoosh!
Abruptly, his sight was blurred. Next, both him and the black-winged lady re-emerged in front of a throne made of bones, but their positions and relative location had not changed one bit. It was as if they had been teleported by some mighty force.
All he could see was a staircase made up of white bones pieced together. He found skulls of many different beings. There were horns on some of the skulls which had to be from demons.
Atop the stair was a throne of bones with the backrest made in the shape of a sharp sword. On both sides, the armrests were two enormous skulls encrusted along with some smaller ones.
Seated in the throne was a towering figure covered in the gloomy dark energy which flowed all around him, his elbows supported by the ghastly armrests. The skin on his bare wrists was pale. He tilted his head so he could look down upon those present.
He lifted his eyelids slightly, revealing his dark, unemotional eyes.
Su Ping looked up at him and into the cold eyes that seemed to be able to see through history. Instantly, he felt cold, fear, and the desire to kneel and worship this being.
However, he dismissed the idea just as it popped out.
Remembering that he could not be killed, Su Ping made up his mind and stood up straight. "Are you the man in charge here?"
The moment he opened his mouth, the kneeling and trembling black-winged lady waved her hands at once. A streak of dark energy sealed off Su Ping's mouth like a tape.
She lowered her head at once and apologized to the king on the throne, but Su Ping did not understand one word.
Bang!
All of a sudden, without any warning, Su Ping exploded.
"??"
Su Ping was dumbstruck. Why was there never any sign before those beings took action?
He was furious and chose to revive on the spot at once.
The king on the throne of bones squinted his eternally immutable and cold eyes.
Bang!
Su Ping exploded once more.
"Revive!"
Explode again!
"Revive one more time!"
"Are you kidding me? Can you let me finish…"
Bang!
"Revive!"
This time, Su Ping did not die at once. Angrily, he climbed that stair of bones and dashed toward that being.
Nobody was born to be above others!
Su Ping wanted to go there and punch that guy, even though he was aware that he was as vulnerable as a puny insect; he was completely unable to harm that king. But he would have died for nothing if he didn't fight back!
The black-winged lady freaked out, seeing Su Ping trying to approach the "king." Her expressions were twisted in wrath. Dark energy surged around her. This time, with this blow, she used her strongest strike.
Since she was exerting her full strength, Su Ping would die ten thousand times over, even if he were a hundred times stronger!
However, before her strike was released, she began to bend over as if something were squeezing her. There were sounds of her bones being fractured. Then, she was swung to the side, smashing into the bone columns like a bird with broken wings.
While still in rage, Su Ping did not notice what happened to her. He dashed up the stairs and stood in front of the throne.
The process was strangely smooth. Nothing hindered him.
"F*ck you…" Su Ping raised his hand and punched.
But his fist stopped midway and his body became so still that he could not move at all.
"Traveling back in time and space?" All of a sudden, Su Ping heard a frigid voice in his mind. It had to be from the being on the throne.
But Su Ping never saw his lips move.
"What?" Su Ping had never heard about the term but he guessed it had something to do with his revival.
"Who are you that can reverse space and time in the Realm of the Undead? Or, should I say, who is the person behind this?" That cold voice went on slowly, carrying an overwhelming sense that could not be doubted.
"None of your f*cking business!"
Su Ping couldn't move his lips but he voiced the curse in his mind.
Bang!
He exploded.
"Revive!"
Just as Su Ping came back to life, he realized that his body could move about again. He was hopping mad. It was true that the being in front of him was horrifying, but being killed repeatedly had consumed him with wrath.
At the same time, all of a sudden, he saw a blood-red bead the size of a baby's hand next to the throne. The bead appeared to be precious.
"It must be worthwhile, even if this is just some average gem." Without hesitation, Su Ping bent over.
Bang!
He exploded yet again.
"Revive!"
After he was brought back to life, he was still bent over, just the way he was before he died. Su Ping moved down a bit more.
Bang!
Revive!
This time, he lowered his body a bit more.
By the fifth revival, Su Ping was very close to the blood-red bead. In his consciousness, he shouted, "I will tell you!"
He didn't explode.
His hand grabbed the blood-red bead.
"Got it!"
The bead vanished. It was transferred to the storage space.
"What?"
That being had seen through Su Ping's intent but did not know that there were storage treasures in him. The moment this being saw Su Ping, he already had a complete understanding of his puny existence. Nothing could escape from his eyes.
"I will tell you to go to hell!" Su Ping obtained the bead. Overjoyed, Su Ping hurled out curses without hesitation.
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