Astral Pet Store (WN)

Chapter 789: Pet Contest

Su Ping fought for half a month in the Void Debris.

Only fifteen hours passed in the outside world.

Su Ping's shop had yet to open at noon the next day.

The customers waiting outside of the shop started to become worried because of this.

"It's even later than yesterday."

"The shop opened at nine o'clock in the morning the other day. Aren't they going to open today?"

"I wonder how many customers they're going to receive today. Considering how far back we are in line, we'll have to wait for at least a week."

"Someone offered to buy my spot for thirty million yesterday, but I chose not to sell it."

The customers waiting in line kept whispering to each other.

The line kept getting longer and longer. All the pets thus far trained at Su Ping's shop had developed and currently had Class A aptitudes.

The shocking news had attracted countless people to the shop.

Some had suspected that all of it was just marketing; a plain old publicity stunt. They didn't believe it was true, unless the shop had a grandmaster trainer.

Very soon, the suspicion proved to be ungrounded. Su Ping had displayed a Star State prowess during the battle against Garland; too many people had witnessed that.

A Star State bigshot would certainly not care about such a paltry sum of money, would he?

Why would he need to cheat to advertise the shop?

Thanks to the mainstream consensus, Su Ping's shop became much more popular than before. Its name was gradually spread out of the Kamp Continent to reach the rest of the planet.

A spot in the line was already worth tens of millions; it wasn't hard to imagine how many people would be attracted to it.

Woffett City became famous overnight throughout the Kamp Continent.

At the store—

Su Ping flashed and appeared in the shop.

His clothes were ragged, and his hair was unkempt. He looked as dirty as a veteran who had returned from the battlefield.

However, his eyes remained as sharp as those of a hawk.

He quickly abandoned the sharp aura and resumed his normal demeanor. Even so, his aura was greatly different from before.

The half-month battle in the Void Debris had boosted his combat ability, enabling him to be reborn.

He had a deeper understanding of the law of space. He spent most of time in the fourth space for training, with the exception of a single, lucky chance he was able to enter the fifth space.

Later on, he became able to tear into the fifth space on his own.

Su Ping tried to go deeper and reach the sixth space, but he wasn't even able to detect the sixth space with his current strength and perception.

It was just like how ordinary people weren't able to detect the secondary space.

Peak of the Void State…

The harvest obtained during the half month period was quite enormous. Su Ping had found the remains of some Star Lords in the fifth space, although most of the remains were already bones; they remained intact thanks to the protection granted by the lingering power of faith.

Some of the remains had astral power hidden in their cells; the power accumulation was as massive as that found in the thousand-years worth of astral power that Nie Huofeng had saved.

Su Ping absorbed the astral power until he was completely filled; he was only a step away from the Fate State.

Apart from the level increase, Su Ping's battle techniques and experience in the void were significantly improved; he was completely different from his own self from a day prior.

Su Ping felt that he could easily defeat Garland if he ran into him again; he wouldn't even give him a chance to escape!

Is it already the new day…?

Su Ping was entranced as he looked at the hazy rays of sunlight through the window.

He even found the rays themselves dazzling.

His stay in the Void Debris took too long, while being completely deprived of any sunlight.

Pulling himself together, he changed his clothes, shaved himself, took a shower, and then opened the door.

"It's open! It's open!"

"Great!"

"The boss is finally out."

The customers were surprised to see the opened door, then they quickly became excited.

Su Ping had already detected the situation outside and wasn't too shocked by it. Still, the popularity was beyond his expectation; he didn't expect his business to thrive that fast, barely having settled down on a strange planet.

"Are any of you here to fetch your pets? Come forward first," said Su Ping.

"Me, me."

"Me too."

Soon, many of the customers went inside the store and claimed their pets.

Su Ping nodded. Tang Ruyan and Zhong Lingtong weren't present at the moment, but he was too lazy to call them—he simply asked those customers to line up, then he returned their pets according to his training log.

"Thank you, boss."

"I can't thank you enough, boss."

"…"

All the customers who fetched their pets were both excited and respectful toward Su Ping. After all, they had witnessed that Su Ping was a Star State warrior.

Su Ping didn't know what to say. I'm just a businessman. Why are you thanking me?

You think I don't want to charge more? I simply can't!

Most of the customers who claimed their pets left without testing the pets in his shop; they chose to run to the assessment shop across the street.

The assessment results were more accurate than their own tests; they were also more used to the assessment system used in the Federation.

However, a lot of people chose to leave and assess their pets in other places, which was merely a precaution in case anyone coveted their pets.

The street had become an instant hit, all because of Su Ping's shop.

The street was supposed to be a mediocre business strip in Woffett City, when compared with dozens of similar places in the city; however, it became a superior business hub. There weren't many luxury stores on the street, but you could find as many magnates as on the top-tier business streets.

After all, the cost to train pets in Su Ping's shop could easily reach a hundred million.

The professional training required ten billion. Such a hefty transaction would usually only be completed with the supervision of the relevant departments, unless both parties were powerful and their accounts in the Universe Bank were advanced enough.

"Class A!!"

"Oh my god, another Class A!"

"It must be from that shop. There had never been a Class A pet before yesterday morning, but then there was one the moment the shop opened."

"Tsk, I wonder which lucky dog it is."

"Let's go, let's go. Join the line; I'll stay here even if I have to wait until next year!"

"He's so good. I heard that the training cost was just a hundred million. Charging a hundred million for a Class A pet is almost like charity!"

The assessment shop exploded again; the "Class A" result on the testing pillar invoked another round of jealousy.

Another Class A rating had appeared on the pillar soon after, but it was A- that time. Nevertheless, a lot of people were extremely envious.

It's true! That shop only delivers Class A pets!

Still watching from the second floor, Cleo was quite astounded by the readings on the test pillar.

Her shop's revenue had also soared thanks to Su Ping. After all, the charges for a Class A pet were much higher than those for a Class B pet.

That rule applied to any assessment shop.

I have to notify the family, no matter the outcome, to show that I'm fulfilling my duties and that our family made the right decision when choosing not to confront him… Cleo thought.

Su Ping's shop became more important in the eyes of the Ryans.

She knew full well that even though the Ryans were the de facto dominators of the planet—and she was truly proud of being a member—it couldn't compare to Su Ping's shop.

Having routed three champions, including Garland, showed his horrifying combat ability.

His training expertise showed that he wasn't a simple master trainer, either.

It was important to stress that the training only took a single day!

The master trainer working for the Ryans was definitely incapable of training so many Class A pets in one day!

…

The street became completely crowded soon after Su Ping opened the shop.

The exclamations from the assessment shop stirred the customers waiting in line, making their eyes become bloodshot. They stared at Su Ping's shop as if it were an unparalleled beauty.

The notifications announcing Class A pets kept coming; those who complained about the long line were all rendered speechless.

They had become restless and angry because Su Ping's shop hadn't opened until noon, but there was only madness left in their eyes at the moment.

They only hated that they couldn't rip apart everybody ahead of them and run into Su Ping's shop first.

Inside the store—

Su Ping checked the openings and welcomed the new customers after seeing off others who had already trained their pets.

Some of the old customers chose to train their pets again, but most didn't have the money, even if they wanted to.

After all, not everybody was rich.

"Boss, I—I'd like to train eight pets."

The new customer was a young man. He was so thrilled to be next to Su Ping that he couldn't even talk straight.

Su Ping smiled and then asked him to choose between normal and professional training.

The money was paid, and the pet was submitted.

…

The news about Su Ping's shop had been sent to the Ryan family before Cleo reported.

The Ryan family had its own intelligence crew, who acquired the intelligence as soon as possible.

The family leaders were shocked to receive such a message.

They had suspected that the prior tests were fortunate occurrences, or maybe because of other reasons. However, the newly-trained pets conclusively proved that there was a grandmaster trainer in the shop!

There was no longer doubt about it.

A graceful lady was crying inside a glamorous hall, next to a middle-aged man who wore wrinkled clothes "My child, my Randall…"

"Stop crying!" yelled the middle-aged man angrily.

The woman wasn't intimidated in the slightest. Instead, she shouted hysterically, "Stop yelling at me! Randall died! Our child died so young, and yet you don't dare to say anything as his father. Are you even qualified as a father?"

"Shut up! Shut up!"

The middle-aged man seemed to have been stung. He jumped and roared, "You think I didn't beg my father for support? He already sent Garland and other experts over, but the man is a Star State expert and is being supported by a grandmaster trainer. How can we avenge our son? My father had already warned me. Do you want me to die too?"

The woman was stunned and weakened. She knew how strong her father-in-law was—the dominator of the Ryan family. What the man said was like a royal decree!

"But our son…"

"It's all because you spoiled him. I said that he should have been sent to an academy, yet you insisted on keeping him at home. Do you see the trouble he caused?" The middle-aged man laid on the blame even more angrily.

Fury was all over the woman's face; she then lost all her gracefulness and simply bit her lips in silence.

"Don't ever talk about the matter again. My father said that he would help cleanse Bohr's body as a way to compensate. It's already merciful enough of my father that he hasn't blamed us for humiliating the Ryans."

Regret and discontent were written all over the woman's eyes, but the main emotion was fear.

She knew she couldn't defy her father-in-law, or she would lose everything!

…

The news of a grandmaster trainer appearing was soon sent to an elder of the Ryan family.

"Dozens of pets with Class A aptitudes were trained in a day?" said a silver-haired old man in a garden, dazed by the ramifications of such event.

He had been fertilizing some flowers with dragon urine at the moment.

All the plants in the garden were expensive pet foods.

A scholarly middle-aged man lowered his head and quickly reported the situation, "Yes, sir. It has caused an uproar outside, and it is also said that there's valid evidence. According to what we know so far, this is what happened…"

Once he was briefed, the old man said with glittering eyes, "Everything leads to the chance of an actual grandmaster trainer working in that shop. At least, I'm incapable of replicating such results."

The middle-aged man was quite shocked after hearing such a verdict.

After all, the old man was a bona fide master trainer; even Star State experts had to treat him politely. And yet, he had admitted his shortcomings.

Wasn't it another proof that only a grandmaster trainer could achieve such results?

Has a grandmaster trainer truly graced our Rhea?

It was almost like an emperor visiting a small village while wearing ordinary clothes. The Ryans would have welcomed him eighty thousand kilometers away from Woffett if he would have openly shown his identity.

"Let's go and meet him," said an excited old man who stopped his fertilizing tasks. His training ability would grow a lot if he could be enlightened by a grandmaster trainer. It was indeed a rare opportunity.

After a momentary lapse of shock, the middle-aged man hesitated and said, "Sir, he just killed one of our leader's grandsons. If we chose to visit him, wouldn't the Ryan family…"

"Like you said, he just killed one of his grandsons. Is O'Neil short of descendants? He's not even short of sons, let alone grandsons!" mocked the old man.

The middle-aged man's lips twitched as he listened.

Just a grandson…

…

Pixie Pet Store—Woffett City.

Su Ping worked for two hours and received a dozen customers; the openings were soon filled up again.

"Sorry, but we're full. Please come again tomorrow," Su Ping apologized to the customers still waiting in line.

No openings again?

The people outside felt like crying.

It seemed that they would have to wait even longer.

Su Ping's politeness was unusual to them; it was almost unimaginable that a Star State bigshot would actually apologize to them.

"Boss, you're too kind. We're very grateful that you're willing to train our pets."

"Exactly, boss, please have some rest. Your health is very important."

Similar comments were uttered by the crowd; many echoed their thoughts.

Su Ping was also unused to them being overly polite, but he still took the chance to closed the shop right away.

The remaining customers didn't leave as advised; all of them remained standing where they were. There wouldn't be any spots available the next day if they chose to leave.

…

Back in the store, Su Ping took a break and then resumed the training sessions.

He enjoyed the process. He was also progressing fast, thanks to all the battles.

Su Ping was having a blast while fighting alongside the Little Skeleton, the Dark Dragon Hound and his other pets.

The Void Debris was said to be a place where an ancient god had perished, but Su Ping had yet to come across any of the god's remains after half a month of fighting.

Still, he wasn't bothered by this. His main purpose was to train himself in a harsh environment.

He did find some Star Lords' corpses floating in the fifth space. They had probably gone there to explore the fifth space and perished in the end.

Human beings would always be greedy, no matter how wealthy they already were.

Time flew.

Several days later—

The Pet Contest that was held every couple of years on Rhea had already started; people were signing up everywhere.

A lot of foreigners had made the trip to the planet because of the contest, as well as the mating season in the Rumbling Thunder Continent.

Pet shops and any establishment offering pet services were experiencing a rapid increase in revenue.

Su Ping's shop was of course the most popular of all.

It became even more popular with each passing day; more and more people learned of its existence and headed over from various places.

The line outside of Su Ping's shop had already extended beyond the street. The City Hall had even established a special passage for the people waiting to be served.

Those in line had almost reached the city limits!

Even those who weren't planning to train their pets had shown up to claim a spot, all with the intention to later sell their spot at a high price. It was quite a flourishing business.

The enthusiasm of that many people had made Su Ping's shop quite popular, so much that everyone in the city had learned of it!

"The Pet Contest is about to begin. I'm going to be the Ocean State pet king in Woffett City!"

"You really think you can pull it off? My pet has already been trained in the Pixie Pet Store three times already. I've invested all my money on the pet, and its aptitude is already A+!"

"Stop fighting. Even if it's A+, so what? I have an Ocean State Star Fire Dragon. It can easily beat your pet!"

Everyone was engaged in heated discussions related to the upcoming Pet Contest while waiting for their turn outside the shop.

…