Astral Pet Store (WN)

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.

A man drifted out of the golden gate with eyes closed. He was none other than Su Ping.

"He's out."

Everybody had solemn expressions after they saw Su Ping exit.

"Huh?"

The Ascendant expert had a fleeting sensation when he saw Su Ping. For a moment he almost thought that Su Ping had the power and aura of an Ascendant…

That seemed to be the illusion of the Ascendant State!

Was he too devoted to one of the Divine Marks, that he unconsciously emulated it?

Am I hallucinating?

Soon, the feeling was gone; the Ascendant gazed at Su Ping with a frown.

Simultaneously—Su Ping woke up from his brush with a world close to the true essence of the universe. He understood that he was outside after seeing everyone else around him.

He soon closed his eyes again, to carefully examine all the things he had seen.

After a long, long time passed—

No one made a noise, nor caused any disturbance. They knew that Su Ping was trying to remember his experiences in the Divine Sea; he would not take kindly to anyone interrupting him at the moment!

It only lasted a moment, but his eyes had a strange glitter when he reopened them. He appeared to have seen through all things.

Su Ping soon got back to normal; he looked at everybody present with a smile. "Sorry for the long wait."

"That's all right. We're not in a rush," Su Jin'er rushed to answer.

Luo Ying chuckled and said, "Brother Su, you surely understood a lot of things while you were inside; I felt I was deeply enlightened even though I merely stayed for five days. I really do hope that we'll fight again when we become Star Lords or Ascendants!"

Su Ping looked at him and said with a smile, "Okay. Better seize the day or you'll get beaten up."

"Ha, ha…"

Luo Ying couldn't help but burst into laughter, as it wasn't easy for him to meet someone who was even more arrogant than him. However, he was neither angry nor offended, because Su Ping had earned the right to make such a declaration!

"I'm also looking forward to it," said Six Lives Buddha with a gentle tone, but his eyes belied his competitive edge.

Having lost to Su Ping despite summoning two future selves, he was eager to find out whether or not he could summon his Ascendant State self when he became a Star Lord.

If he could, would Su Ping be able to take him on?

He knew that Su Ping had also mastered the path of time and space, but there were other things involved when summoning future selves!

On the other side, Lilian—gracing them with her alluring body—said in a low voice, "What a shame… We didn't have a chance to fight. Maybe next time."

She looked at Su Ping with great interest on her pretty face.

"Okay." Su Ping accepted all their challenges. All of them were technically rivals, but he somehow felt they had become friends after the fights.

Others were also interested in making appointments to challenge him in the future, but they were too timid to say it out loud. After all, they currently were much too weak in comparison.

The ever proud Dragon Shepard had also remained silent. He simply gritted his teeth, telling himself he had to become ten times, even a hundred times stronger!

"Let's head back now, since you've already learned something. The spaceship bound to the Heavenly Star Pavilion should be ready. Some Heavenly Lords will protect you on the way; I don't think anyone would dare to attack you," said the Ascendant with a smile.

He looked at them, feeling that they were geniuses who would change the universe someday.

How many Ascendants would emerge among the top ten would remain to be seen.

He wasn't worried about the top three. The rest didn't have a 100% guarantee to break through.

The Ascendant soon took everyone back to the palace where the Celestials dwelled.

The warships and other vessels in space had already disappeared by then. Since the competition had already ended, some had left on their own, while others were driven away.

The vast mysterious realm seemed cold and lonely for a moment.

Some of the Celestials had also left. Only three remained.

"Your two precious disciples are back," Mu Shen said with a smile while his gaze was able to see through the palace walls.

Shen Huang laughed and said, "They are two treasures indeed. It won't be long before they distinguish themselves as Star Lords; maybe they'll rise to the Ascendant State in five hundred years!"

Mu Shen smiled. Reaching the Ascendant State was a remarkable milestone, but considering the situation experienced at the frontiers of the Federation, and compared to their own level, Ascendant cultivators were basically ants; maybe the Heavenly Lords were the only ones able to put up some resistance.

A female Celestial looked at Mu Shen and asked, "Many reincarnators participated in this competition. You're not going to punish them?"

Mu Shen said casually, "They weren't too outrageous as they went about it. They simply were reincarnations of ordinary Ascendants, and none of them try to take any of the top three spots. They probably were just trying to find enlightenment so they can break through to the Celestial State, accumulating experiences through their reincarnations. It's an understandable approach. It would be great to have more Celestial State companions."

"You're truly generous."

The female Celestial smiled and said, "Their plan was not bad in itself. Unfortunately, they adopted the wrong approach, as the road to the Celestial State isn't that simple. How can you reach the Celestial State without enduring hundreds of disasters? They don't know the first thing about what being a celestial means…"

Shen Huang chuckled. No longer planning to continue with the chat, he said, "I'll be taking my leave now that the competition finally came to an end. I'll make arrangements on my end to handle the overlapping of the universe."

Then, he faded away from the temple.

"He didn't leave until he saw his disciples; he does seem to cherish them," said the female Celestial, pursing her lips.

Mu Shen smiled, not thinking much of it.

…

Outside the palace.

Su Ping, having just arrived, heard Shen Huang's voice. In the meantime, a torrent of information about plenty of treasures flooded into his head. There were 89 treasures in total!

"This is a list of the rare heaven-level treasures in the Heavenly Star Pavilion; you can pick three of them. I suggest you choose 'Goddess Nuwa', which will help you advance to the Celestial State smoothly."

Slightly stunned by the comprehensive briefing, Su Ping quickly thanked his master via telepathy.

"I'll be leaving now. Someone will come and pick you up after your visit to the Heavenly Star Pavilion. See you in the Celestial Court." Shen Huang's voice faded after that.

"As you wish."

Once Shen Huang left, Su Ping immediately devoted himself to examining the information about the treasures that was recently added to his memories.

However, right before he could read them carefully, the Ascendant expert said, "This will be your carrier. Off you go. Your protectors will introduce the treasures in the Heavenly Star Pavilion during the trip."

Everyone raised their heads and saw a dragon-like spaceship. It was a splendid, golden craft with multiple floors and a dragon's head.

All the geniuses were surprised to find that the dragon head was actually real; it was not a mere decoration.

They stared at the spaceship intently, while they were able to sense a powerful aura coming from it. A few men flew out; one of them was the handsome and indifferent sort, who was wearing black colored clothes. He gave a casual once over at the group and said, "Kids, hop on."

Everybody was nervous.

The other three guys next to the man in black were also Ascendants, but they were obviously acting reverently.

It was clear that the man was a Heavenly Lord!

The geniuses wasted no time boarding the vessel.

"Your protectors are also on board. No need to feel nervous."

On the spaceship—one or two representatives from the organizations behind Luo Ying and Dragon Shepard had been invited over to act as escort on their way to the Heavenly Star Pavilion.

The one tasked with looking after Su Ping on the spaceship was not You Long, but one of his pets.

However, the pet was in the Ascendant State, and was already able to transform freely. It was currently using the appearance of a pretty girl. She introduced herself to Su Ping with a smile, "Master asked me to take care of you. You must be the super genius who condensed a small world while still being a Fate State warrior. Tsk, tsk. Human beings do have unimaginable upper limits… Well, lower limits too."

Su Ping was lost for words. The girl obviously had a charming skill; he would have been affected if he hadn't been hardened in the cultivation sites.

However, the others reacted less naturally.

"What about me? You're here to protect me too, right?" Diaz squeezed forward and asked passionately.

The girl glanced at him and said with the same smile, "Of course."

…That is so insincere.?Diaz instantly sensed the discrimination and felt bummed. He then glanced at Su Ping and made up his mind to study better and develop his constitution.

He had heard that the Reincarnation Divine Constitution would only show it's powerful potential until the Star Lord State!

That would be the moment of his comeback!

"There are quarters for rest, entertainment, pet training, cultivation and everything else you currently may need," introduced one of the Ascendants next to the young man in black. "The trip to the Heavenly Star Pavilion will take five days. You may take a good rest after this exhausting battle."

Nobody added a single thing, as if offering a silent agreement.

However, many of them went to the cultivation quarters after they dispersed.

Rest?

How could they rest when Su Ping, Luo Ying, Six Lives Buddha and other geniuses were around them?

They received much fewer prizes because they had fallen behind, and they would lose even more if they fell behind again!

One step behind, all steps behind!

Luo Ying and Six Lives Buddha were no exception. Both of them went to the cultivation area; they had no time to rest or have fun.

Su Ping had originally planned to take a break, but seeing how diligent the others were, he no longer dared to relax. After all, he had condensed a small world, but he had yet to make significant progress on the second Astral Painting, even though he already had enough power to draw the third Astral Painting.

Su Ping soon after went to the cultivation quarters in order to train in seclusion.

The protectors on the spaceship were lost for words after seeing how hardworking the kids were. They had a lot of mixed feelings because of it; after all, diligence was always the most reliable path to success.

It was a fair path for everybody.

Talent, by comparison, was unfair.

Unfortunately, everyone pursued such an unfair factor, neglecting the fair starting line already within their reach.

In the cultivation quarters—

Su Ping was going over the information his master had left him while training in seclusion.

All the 89 treasures are actual items selected by my master; all the other heaven-level treasures have been filtered out.

My master recommended Goddess Nuwa. What kind of thing is that?

Su Ping found the information about Goddess Nuwa. It was supposed to be some sort of puppet and substitute. In the event of Su Ping dying, his soul would regenerate on the item through the contract.

To put it simply, it was a second life!

The only shortcoming was that some rare constitutions could not be transferred onto the Goddess Nuwa artifact.

However, the item itself would generate random constitutions that were usually powerful. They would be top-tier, rare constitutions, if not for the existence of top divine constitutions!

It seems that my master really fears that I might die. It means that I will reach the Ascendant State sooner or later, as long as I cultivate dutifully. He's only worried about things happening to me before I reach that point. Of course, I'd be absolutely safe as long as I stay in my store. I wouldn't need such a thing…

I can stay inside my store and wait until I reach the Ascendant State before I come out!

Cultivating there would be faster anyway…

Su Ping shook his head and abandoned his master's recommendation.

Then, he examined the other treasures.

They were real eye openers; all of them were rare and extremely powerful.

Goddess Nuwa, which granted a second life, was only one among the mediocre treasures.

One of the treasures can even cast curses on Divine Marks? Sadly, it can only be used to curse people of the same cultivation realm. It wouldn't be effective if ordinary Ascendants were to curse Heavenly Lords with this, as the effect may trigger dark energy in the universe. Once cursed, even the Heavenly Lords could suffer from misfortune…

Su Ping was truly astonished by the strange treasures.