Astral Pet Store (WN)

Chapter 168 Pioneer’s Ranking

As far as Su Ping remembered, there were several million low-level cultivation planes in the system menu, while the dragon king’s heritage ground was only one of them. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he realized that he was going to its exact counterpart in real life.

According to the system, the heritage ground had been left behind by an ancient warrior who had long perished. It had been categorized as “low-level” because this warrior wasn’t exactly strong. In modern times, these old relics had either vanished or somebody had already looted them clean. There might be several ones that remained intact, all of which should be hidden inside alien planets no one could explore.

Su Ping stared at the dragon bone with widened eyes as he remembered another important matter: since the dragon king’s heritage ground was supposed to have a great legacy tucked away somewhere, how about this Mysterious Realm? While he couldn’t physically take away anything from the heritage ground generated by the system, he could definitely get his hands on real treasures in the real site.

However, his excitement soon cooled off as he remembered how he needed to reach the top floor of the dragon tower and excavate all the “dragon scale lands” to be deemed qualified to inherit whatever was waiting in the end. From what he learned from Ye Chenshan, only 57 out of 109 sectors in Longtai Mountain had been successfully charted. People had a long way to go. Perhaps he could return and try his luck after all sectors had been mapped out. At the moment, however, there wasn’t much he could do.

Another theory suddenly struck his mind. If this place was identical to the dragon king’s heritage ground, were the layouts inside the 109 sectors exactly the same as the “dragon scale lands” as well? That is, including what he could find from them?

His eyes briefly gleamed upon reaching that idea, before he quickly hid his true thoughts from the others. He wasn’t going to reveal this matter to anyone yet.

Similar to him, most settlers nearby were all gazing at the towering dragon bone in awe. Rumors had it that this dragon was a mightier presence compared to Beast Kings when it was alive.

“Mister Su, you’re now looking at the Longtai Mountain Mysterious Realm,” Ye Chenshen explained with a serious look, “The dragon remains you’re seeing are said to be from ancient vile beast. It was many times deadlier than your average Beast Kings.”

“Guess even something as powerful can’t survive the woes of being old,” another team member nearby commented.

“The dragon tower is just up ahead. I wonder which level we can reach at the moment?” Luo Guxue and Guo Yuelin gazed at the tall

structure.

“Time waits for no one. Let’s get some exploration done first. We’ll check out the tower when we have time to spare,” said Nie Chengkong.

The ladies seemed disappointed but didn’t say otherwise, for they both knew that they couldn’t afford to fall behind the other teams, even though they had a treasure map. Su Ping frowned and spoke up, “Captain Nie, I want to check out the tower first.”

Nie Chengkong looked at him. “Well, I can understand how young people are all eager to test their strength. But we should take care of our bigger task first. As I said, we’ll hit the tower later.”

Su Ping had to confirm whether this place was the same as what he knew. Even though everything looked familiar, the dragon’s will he felt from the dragon bone was weaker compared to the heritage ground. He needed to make sure just in case.

Knowing the answer meant he would have an easier time exploring the different sectors later, because he could more or less remember what to expect.

“Sorry, I have to go. I’ll be quick.” Nie Chengkong frowned as dissatisfaction was written all over his face, though he wanted to avoid trouble among the team members if he could.

“…Fine, we’ll go with you. It just happened that Guxue had the same idea.”

Luo Guxue and Guo Yuelin exchanged a happy look.

Ye Chenshan sighed in annoyance. He knew Su Ping was strong, but he didn’t expect Su Ping to succumb to the recklessness of youth. Going after the treasures was clearly the better option right then.

The other two helpers didn’t look pleased either, but none of them stopped Nie Chengkong. They were willing to follow Nie Chengkong’s decision for the moment. Though this didn’t stop them from giving Su Ping angry looks.

The dragon’s will intensified as they approached the dragon bone. The settlers who went there were all strong enough to resist the pressure at such a distance, although not all of them could actually challenge the tower.

At the moment, a group of people who planned to enter the tower were already waiting in front of the entrance. When Su Ping found a vacant spot to wait, the others in the team stayed nearby while observing the surroundings.

A moment later, another group approached the waiting area, with an outstanding woman walking right in the middle. She appeared rather eye-catching among all the settlers because she only looked a little over the age of 20, whereas the youngest settlers nearby were approaching their 30s. Also, people had all the more reasons to pay extra attention to her upon seeing how her companions were acting as if they were escorting a princess.

However, as soon as people recognized her, they quickly looked away in order not to draw trouble their way.

The woman gave the others an unamused glance and looked at the tower ahead, until she fixed her eyes on the fifth level.

An old man beside her smiled gently. “I believe you will reach the sixth level without a problem, my lady. Then you’ll become the champion on the Pioneer’s Ranking.”

The woman didn’t seem interested. She said, “Tell this rabble to make way. I don’t have time to waste with them.”

The old man nodded and moved ahead to address everyone. “Ahem. Move aside, if you will, so our young mistress can get through.”

His voice sounded friendly enough, but many people were unhappy with his message.

“Who the heck is it??”

“Some kind of big-shot from a rich family, huh?”

“Get in line and wait if your little lady wants to use the tower! Who do you think you are, the president’s wife?”

“What he said!”

Whereas some of the people protested openly, the rest of them who recognized the old man obediently left the queue with terrified looks.

The old man was no longer looking so amiable.

“My word. Is it so difficult to be a little more tolerant?”

He took another step ahead while fully disclosing his hidden power, which immediately froze the air as well as people who stood too close, rendering them immovable.

“He-he-he’s a titled warrior!”

Upon hearing that, several smart people with quick reflexes escaped from the scene as well. “That woman’s Tang Ruyan??”

“She’s the one who made it to the fifth level of the tower last time. I saw her on the Pioneer’s Ranking!”

“Sh*t. That’s why she got a titled warrior to be her bodyguard?”

Those who were still trying to resist the old man’s might decided to quit. They all knew that Tang Ruyan was a renowned superstar with exceptional flair. Her family had always been a dominant one across several base cities in the subcontinent. Common folk were powerless against her.

“Hmph. You always want it the hard way.” The old man turned away impatiently.

Tang Ruyan didn’t look bothered by what had happened since she had been through similar things many times.

She moved ahead to enter the tower, but stopped in her tracks because the entrance was still blocked by someone.

The old man looked that way with an angry gaze. “Are you deaf, kid? Get out of my master’s way! Or was I too forceful just now and you no longer feel your pathetic legs?”

Su Ping looked left and right and was surprised to find that all the people waiting around him had left.

“Huh? Are you talking to me, old man?”