Astral Pet Store (WN)

Tablet of Principles?

Su Ping raised his head and stared at the tablet that was too tall for him, as he couldn’t see the top. The tablet was primitive; he felt he was gazing into the universe!

Vast, empty, lonely!

The tablet seemed to be shrouded in a fog; there seemed to be nothing on the tablet, but at the same time, it gave the impression of being filled with stars!

That was a strange feeling that could hardly be put into words. Su Ping felt he was about to understand something but that feeling immediately vanished.

“Stu… system, what is a Tablet of Principles?” Su Ping asked.

“Don’t try me!” the system warned Su Ping.

Su Ping pretended to be confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Hmm, you know what I’m talking about!” The system stopped this badgering and began to explain to Su Ping, “Just like ancient creatures, the Tablets of Principles were born from chaos, except that the Tablets of Principles are not living creatures. Still, they carry with them principles of everything found in the universe!

“Once you understand the Tablets of Principles, you understand the principles of the universe.

“But it’s almost impossible to understand the Tablets of Principles. Not even the three Golden Crow elders can do that.”

Su Ping was surprised.

That tablet he was staring at… contained the principles of the universe?

That was to say, the Tablet of Principles was the ultimate textbook!

“You can say that,” the system replied.

“…”

This stupid, peeping maniac.

“But, to even start to learn the Tablet of Principles, you must be at the Star Rank or above. You can’t understand the principles if you’re not, and even if you can, the learning would make your head explode!” the system added.

Su Ping decided not to hold the system accountable for all the peeping since it did offer an explanation. He had become used to the snooping system anyway…

“You said that the three elders haven’t yet fully understood the Tablets of Principles. Are you saying that anyone who can understand the tablets would be more powerful than the three elders?” Su Ping asked.

“Of course.”

Su Ping gasped.

The three Golden Crow elders were terrifying creatures, able to destroy the Blue Planet within an instant. The Deep Caves’ crisis for the Blue Planet was nothing for those Golden Crows!

That Tablet of Principles was an artifact that could help anyone accomplish such a feat in one go!

But, one had to understand the principles for that to happen!

“Also, if you don’t have enough brainpower, you can analyze the Tablet of Principles for ten thousand years and still be unable to understand it,” the system continued.

“…”

The system: “Yep.”

…

“What are you thinking of?” Diqiong asked Su Ping. It found Su Ping was in a strange state.

Su Ping was in a trance; Diqiong was curious about what was going on in that human’s mind.

The royal crow had belittled the human at the very beginning. But then, Diqiong became interested in him as time passed and wanted to know more.

Su Ping came back to his senses and made up an answer, “I don’t know what I should have for dinner.”

Diqiong rolled its eyes.

This human is still despicable!

“You’ll be working in groups of ten. The third round has now begun,” the Chief Elder announced. Its voice echoed under the tree crown.

The young Golden Crows looked at each other.

Soon after, some of them took the lead and flew to the Tablet of Principles.

The other Golden Crows followed suit.

As ten Golden Crows had arrived in front of the Tablets of Principles, the other participants would have to stop as required by the rules.

The ten Golden Crows flew to the Tablets of Principles and unleashed the rules of an element they knew. The first one that all the Golden Crows used was the rule of flames!

The Golden Crows released their rules of flames which then were imbued in the tablet. Following that, glowing grains were manifested in a golden ray of light. That was the first principle lighting up!

Golden Crows had been born to understand the rules of flames, just like humans were born to understand how to eat and drink. Only some “problematic Golden Crows” would not understand the rule of flames.

The young Golden Crows began to resort to other rules they knew.

Some of the skills contained a destructive force; some Golden Crows were covered in lightning bolts, while others were able to create mountains out of thin air.

More and more grains began to light upon the Tablet of Principles.

Su Ping observed. He didn’t rush in to take his turn; he had to see what the Golden Crows were doing.

Those are all skills at the peak of the legendary rank! Su Ping thought. Those young Golden Crows were stunning; all their skills were quite destructive, and they had mastered skills of different sorts.

One of the Golden Crows used five different skills and had lit up five grains!

Those things are indeed powerful. They would be second to none on the Blue Planet; crushing the Otherworld Heavenly King would be a breeze. But those Golden Crows were still… merely baby birds! Su Ping said to himself. Those Golden Crows were terrifying!

Soon, the first group of Golden Crows finished their test.

Some returned in disappointment and some were proud.

Of the ten Golden Crows, nine passed and one failed.

Those that joined the first group were pretty confident about themselves. The Golden Crow that failed to pass didn’t have enough strength when it was trying to light up the third grain. The Golden Crow tried and tried but still ended up failing.

“Are you going?” Diqiong asked Su Ping. It seemed that Diqiong was having high hopes.

Su Ping raised his eyebrows. “I’ll observe first.”

He was not in a hurry; all he needed to do was to pass the third round. He didn’t care how good his scores would be in the end.

He had learned some things from the Golden Crows; he was inspired whenever the Golden Crows unleashed their skills.

The skills were a manifestation of rules and principles. It was usually hard to understand the underlying principles of skills, but maybe it was because he was standing close to the Tablet of Principles, Su Ping noticed that his brain was active; he was able to see the underlying principles. It was an amazing feeling.

It’s a good thing that I can steal some knowledge, Su Ping said to himself that the trip had been rewarding, even if he couldn’t get the materials for the second level of Solar Bulwark.

As the first group returned, the second group flew away. They were eager to show their strength, unlike the first group of Golden Crows who were quite shy and hesitant.

Soon after, ten Golden Crows flew out and several more did fly away from the twig as well, but they weren’t fast enough. By the time ten had already gathered at the tablet, the slower ones would have to go back.

The second group’s performance was also marvelous, even more inspiring than the first group. All of them passed.

Three of the Golden Crows had lit up four grains!

One had lit up five of them!

Those Golden Crows have mastered different rules and their knowledge is profound. I wonder what the adult Golden Crows can do…

The more Su Ping observed, the more excited he was. Those Golden Crows didn’t just understand the rule of flames, but other rules as well.

When they demonstrated those rules by unleashing skills, their power rose to that of the Fate State!

As he watched, he thought of his Dark Dragon Hound, which had mastered the skills of almost all the kids he knew.

It was unfortunate that the skills the Dark Dragon Hound had mastered were at the Ocean State. He wondered if it could also learn the principles when its skills reached the Fate State.

I see that I have to train it harder! Su Ping said to himself.

Inside the contract space, the resting Dark Dragon Hound was resting when it felt an urge to tremble. It was not a good sign.

As time passed, more and more Golden Crows finished their third round.

The Golden Crow of the He family—the one that acted hostile toward Su Ping—had also finished its turn. It had lit up six grains, the best result thus far!

But, soon after, another young Golden Crow bested the He family Golden Crow by lighting up eight grains!

A huge sensation was swept across the crowd.

Su Ping could hear squeaks in his ears; he managed to understand some of the things the Golden Crows were speaking of in his mind. He learned that the Golden Crow that had lit up eight grains hadn’t done that well in the first two rounds. It was seen as a dark horse for that round.

“Its strength is not balanced…” Su Ping said to himself.

That young Golden Crow nearly knew rules of all kinds!

But Su Ping found strange that apart from the usual rules of thunder, water, flames, light, and darkness, there was something he couldn’t identify.

“Principles are varied. Those that aren’t marked as basic principles can also be used here,” the system explained, “The basic and most prominent principles contain countless smaller principles. You can also achieve great results if you can become an expert in one of the smaller principles! The rules of thunder and agility are seen as part of the principles! They work because the principles are supporting them!”

“…”

Su Ping had become used to the fact that the system would interfere with his train of thought, and the answer was much to his liking. “So, I have two already… I can pass if I can find the third one?!”

“Find…”

The system snorted. “You can try; you do have enough in you to pass this third round. The hard thing for you should be the first round, but your cultivation during the past ten days has helped you. You can wait for the end of the trial and have your potential inspired by the Golden Crows.”

Since the system sounded that confident, Su Ping knew he could set his mind at ease. “I wonder if the Golden Crows would want to help me, a foreign creature, by then.”

He shook his head. The third round was about to end. Not wasting more time, he flew toward the tablet.