Astral Pet Store (WN)

"Junior brother?" Su Ping was slightly surprised, but didn't ask further.

Ji Xueqing teleported the both of them away from Rhea. They quickly traveled in space towards the Celestial Court.

Led by Senior Sister Ji, Su Ping watched the Celestial Court get closer and closer. He suddenly thought about the "Void Walker" technique that Heather had taught him, which seemed to be much faster than his senior sister's traveling method.

Several hours later—

Su Ping arrived in the Celestial Court with Ji Xueqing.

The place had never been as crowded. Su Ping saw spaceships carrying emblems of various forces; some even belonged to the Loulan family, which gave him a slight surprise.

Still, the Loulan family was one of the seven biggest families in the universe; it wouldn't be surprising to see some of them visit the Celestial Court.

"The trial is about to begin. All the forces in our star zone are trying to send their representatives. Hehe. They should've thought it through. This trial concerns the legacy of a true god; they don't stand any chance at all."

Ji Xueqing smiled casually.

They were indeed there to participate in the trial.

Su Ping seemed to be calm and undisturbed.

Ji Xueqing was surprised to see him act in such a nonchalant manner. She thought that Su Ping seemed to be much more poised than before.

Ji Xueqing felt rather curious, upon remembering the strange store where Su Ping had been training in seclusion. Her master mentioned that it was impossible to see his past in the river of time. It seemed to be blocked somehow.

Whoever had done that was surely a Celestial or someone close to that level.

The mysterious expert behind her genius junior brother had to be hiding in the store.

"Junior brother, can you tell me the name of the expert who taught you? Maybe I know them," said Ji Xueqing curiously.

Su Ping was stunned for a moment. Then, he thought of the system and the Chaos Perception Dragon.

You know them?

"No, you don't." Su Ping shook his head.

Ji Xueqing was stunned for a moment. His certainty when he answered made her really mad.

This person…

Ji Xueqing gnashed her teeth and snorted. Su Ping was obviously unwilling to confess, so she preferred not to press on the matter. She was a Heavenly Lord anyway, and she had her pride.

On the other hand—

She was eager to see the look on the mysterious expert's face looking after Su Ping if her junior truly gained the true god's legacy and advanced into the Celestial State.

If his disciple did reach the Celestial State and the expert remained in the Ascendant State… The latter would have to run for his life if the former slapped him.

His disciple would be even stronger than himself.

By then, that guy would surely show up.

Whoever raised a Celestial disciple would surely show up proudly.

If Su Ping failed and didn't get the legacy… then she would have nothing to worry about. She would return the insult she had suffered twice over!

In the future, even if Su Ping reached the Ascendant State too, he would only be a Heavenly Lord at best, and she would still be able to crush him and teach him a good lesson about respecting his seniors.

Ji Xueqing gritted her teeth after thinking of that scenario; she could not wait any longer.

For some reason, she suddenly had a strange feeling. It somehow seemed that he wouldn't lose anything during the trial.

Approximately 10 minutes passed—

They arrived at the temple, right in the central section of the Celestial Court.

The luxurious stairs found there looked like a sky made of gold, encrusted with countless gems, but none of it looked chaotic. Every stair looked like a natural piece of art.

Star Lords were guarding at the foot of the stairs.

There were also Ascendants on patrol.

A statue of Shen Huang stood on the square in front of the temple. There were statues of enormous beasts in other places; they were the original renditions of Shen Huang's pets. Normal Star Lords would have been intimidated when visiting the square.

Ji Xueqing went to report after they landed.

The palace gate was opened soon after.

Su Ping instantly saw his master on the enormous throne inside the temple. There were a few familiar people he knew, including Diaz and other Star Lord senior brothers and sisters he practiced with.

Apart from them, there was a stranger. Su Ping examined him, only to find that his aura could barely be detected, but he was a Star Lord too.

"Huh?"

Ji Xueqing noticed him the moment she entered the temple. After her surprise, she led Su Ping to greet their master.

Then, she looked at the handsome young man wearing purple clothes. "I think I saw you twenty thousand years ago, right?"

The handsome young man was rather indifferent. But he put on a smile and clasped hands when Ji Xueqing posed the question. "Shuai Qianhou pays respect to you, Senior Sister Ji. I didn't know that you would remember me."

"It really is you."

Ji Xueqing was slightly shocked. Then, she realized something and looked at her master. "Is he our new junior brother? I didn't expect that you would bring him here."

While seated on the throne, Shen Huang said with a smile. "Indeed. He's your junior brother. I thought about recruiting him as a disciple, back when he won the Universe Geniuses' Contest and became famous fifty thousand years ago. But then I decided to give him a test which would make him even stronger, if he could accomplish it. Qianhou merely needed three thousand years to accomplish the test.

"But then he thought of challenging himself and finding his limits, so he never studied formally under me. Still, I've considered him as my disciple for a long time.

"He has just returned."

Ji Xueqing was stunned for a moment. All of it was new to her; it seemed that her master had prepared her junior for a long time.

"What kind of test took him three thousand years to accomplish?" asked Ji Xueqing curiously.

As far as she knew, the guy was as talented as anyone in his level could be. What kind of test did he go through?

"Qianhou is a rare genius that appears only once in 100,000 years. My test for him was to condense a perfect path while in the Star State!" said Shen Huang with a smile.

"…"

Ji Xueqing was stunned by the revelation.

Diaz and all the others in the temple—who had been curious about their junior brother's identity—raised their heads in shock after hearing what their master had said.

To grasp a perfect path in the Star State?

Was that even a test?

It was more like purposefully giving him a hard time!

Su Ping was slightly surprised. Had the guy grasped a perfect path in the Star State, just like him?

Also, if the guy had won the championship fifty thousand years prior, didn't that mean that he had been cultivating ever since?

Master didn't ask me or Diaz to go through a similar test. Did he think that we didn't have what it takes to accomplish the task? thought Su Ping. He was rather curious. In that case, Shuai Qianhou was surely terrifyingly talented.

Wait a minute.

Why was his surname Shuai1?

Su Ping raised his eyebrows and examined the guy carefully.

"So, it only took him three thousand years to grasp a perfect path in the Star State?" Ji Xueqing was stunned. She found it unbelievable to associate "perfect path" with the Star State.

"No wonder our junior brother remained on the top of the Divine Lord Rank for ten thousand years without being challenged until he disappeared. I thought an accident happened to him…" Ji Xueqing finally understood.

The guy had grasped a perfect path in the Star State. He was still a Star Lord after fifty thousand years of cultivation. She couldn't even begin to imagine the guy's accumulation. She had no doubt that he would become another astounding Heavenly Lord when he reached the Ascendant State!

He might even become one of the top Heavenly Lords!

She could not help but look at Su Ping as she thought about that.

She heaved a sigh when she noticed how seriously the latter was examining Shuai Qianhou. It was obvious that even Su Ping had felt pressure from the guy.

As it turned out, that junior brother of hers was her master's ultimate trump card in the trial!