Astral Pet Store

Three hours?

 That took Su Ping by surprise. He immediately opened up the computer nearby to check the time. The date shown on the computer was indeed the day he arrived at the store.

 “Phew…” He breathed a sigh of relief.

 That was good.

 If he were gone missing for three days, his mom would lose her mind.

 2Of course, when it came to that sister of his, she might feel differently…

 Su Ping shook his head. He focused his mind on the store. He remembered the pet incubation and breeding quest he had just collected. Promptly, he began to search the store.

 Soon, he found a pond like a dried-up well in the lounge at the back of the store.

 That probably was the “Chaos Spirit Pool for Incubation” the system had just added in the pet store.

 “Am I supposed to do it here? What should I start the incubation with?”

 Su Ping was curious. All of a sudden, the image of hens laying eggs came to mind. His expressions changed a bit. His at ease stance gradually changed to attention…

 “The host is still within the beginner’s protection month. Only 10 energy points are needed for one use of the ‘Chaos Spirit Pool for Incubation’,” the system added.

 1Su Ping was relieved.

 As long as he could use energy points for this… That being said, using energy was no joking matter, either.

 Ten energy points would be equal to 1000!

 “Lucky for me, when I finish the mission, I can get a skill book for battle pet warriors, which is to say, I can buy a skill book with 1000. That is worthwhile.”

 Usually, a battle pet warrior had to master a skill to be enrolled into the Academy for Astral Pets. Such skills would have to take a long time, hard work and practice to master. That was not something that merely 1000 could buy.

 “System, how can I make a quick buck?” Su Ping asked the system in his mind.

 A moment later, the system gave a brief answer, “The host can earn energy quickly by selling food.”

 “Selling food?” Naturally, Su Ping still remembered this service. In an instant, his hair stood up and he was covered with goosebumps. “I need to harvest food at cultivation sites. This cultivation site would not be some place like the Thunder Cloud Realm, would it?”

 He didn’t wish to harvest food in some places where he would be threatened by a growing crisis. He had had enough of a brush with death!

 2He would probably not mind an instant death. What he was most afraid of was to be bitten to death, one bite after another, slowly. That would be the most horrifying way to go!

 The system answered, “The Thunder Cloud Realm is not the only cultivation site. It is just one among many, and it is an advanced one.”

 “Given the remaining energy the host has left, there is not enough to pay for a round of teleportation to the Thunder Cloud Realm. Host, please select a cultivation site within the allowed price range to go to…”

“Be aware. The more advanced the cultivation site is, the higher the possibility of harvesting precious food!”

 “What?”

 Su Ping sat up straight suddenly.

 “Price? Energy?”

 “Warning. Second profanity alert!”

 13

Su Ping’s facial expressions were twisted!

 He had to pay to go to a cultivation site?

 Was the system sure that it was a super pet system? Wasn’t it a zillionaire system?!

 Su Ping felt too ashamed. He didn’t want to go moments before. However, a second later, he was told that he couldn’t, even if he wanted to!

 Besides, according to the system, he had lost a fortune!

 During the previous days for the training mission, he did nothing other than focus his mind on the Lightning Rat. He had squandered away a perfect chance to harvest food for three days in an advanced cultivation site of the Thunder Cloud Realm!

 9If things were different, he would have returned with plenty of food for pets of the thunder family!

 “System, I blame you…” Su Ping sounded full of complaints.

 The system remained unaffected. “You didn’t ask. Additionally, as a qualified host, you should have learned to search for everything related to pets.”

 1“You!” Su Ping clenched his teeth.

 “Third profanity alert. Punishment drawn at random. Extreme pain experience…” the system warned him.

 3Su Ping opened his eyes wide. “No…!”

 “Ah, ah, oh, oh, ah…”

 6A long moment later and after a fit of fierce shouts.

 Su Ping sat by the door of the pet store, listless. His looks indicated he had gone through vicissitudes.

 Bang.

 A coin was thrown to him.

 1Su Ping looked up and saw a man smiling warmly at him. He was wearing a business suit and his hair was split in the middle. Then, he could only see the back of the man after he turned around gracefully.

 2“…”

 Su Ping picked up that coin silently.

 He gazed at the coin, and gazed at it some more…

 “System, can this money be converted into energy?” Su Ping asked all of a sudden.

 The system: “…”

 “No!”

 Su Ping made an “oh” sound in a low voice. He slowly placed the coin in his pocket and stood up. He patted the dust off from his butt. Life was hard but it had to go on, right?

 He went back to the store and Su Ping read the words “Window to Cultivation Planes” in his mind.

 Soon, a windowed chart showed up in front of him. Many location names were written inside, and following each location was a digit that indicated the energy required.

 Su Ping scrolled it down. He saw the word “Thunder Cloud Realm” and the energy was 1000.

 One thousand energy points for one visit.

 Su Ping curled his lips. Soon, calmness was restored.

 He had become composed, Buddha-like.

 

Su Ping kept scrolling the page down. He came to elementary cultivation planes. The energy required to enter such places varied from one to 10.

 “What?” All of a sudden, Su Ping saw a plane that was also named the “Thunder Cloud Realm,” but it only required one energy point!

 Did he read it correctly?

 Su Ping checked more carefully. The number was correct. So, did the system make a mistake?

 “This system doesn’t make any errors,” the system’s voice came in time, “This is a fragment of the plane called Thunder Cloud Realm. The fragment is a part broken off from the Thunder Cloud Realm, maybe land from the corners of the realm, or ruins where there are no animals or plants. To go to such places would be risky. The host must be prudent.”

 “Fragment?” It was until then that Su Ping finally noticed the word “fragment” written in extremely small sizes.

 He suddenly remembered what it said in the history books of the Federation. The Thunder Cloud Realm had broken up and vanished. Could it be that this fragment was from that incident?

 Then…

 The one he entered was a complete Thunder Cloud Realm?

 But it had fallen into pieces, why would there be an intact Thunder Cloud Realm?

 Su Ping had questions but he didn’t obtain answers from the system. All of a sudden, he felt this system was unfathomably strong. He thought he’d better not mess up with the system in the future.

 4Su Ping browsed through the list and closed it. He did not choose to go in.

 He was worn out.

 Simply exhausted.

 He had died over a hundred times in three days when he was at the Thunder Cloud Realm. That meant more than a mere digit. During almost half of the deaths, he was slowly tortured to the end of his life in the most excruciating way.

 1Although every time after he was brought back to life, his strength would be recovered. That fatigue in spirit was becoming increasingly overwhelming. That is why the Lighting Rat fell so deeply asleep as soon as they came back.

 Su Ping closed the roller shutter door. The store dimmed down. Promptly, he lay on the desk and slept soundly.

 

…

 …

 Su Yanying had returned to the academy.

 The large campus had large lawn areas. The green ratio was quite high. In the middle of a plaza in the distance, there were ponds and waterfalls so that some student’s pets of the water family could enjoy themselves there.

 But, at the moment, the pond was deadly tranquil. There wasn’t a single pet there.

 In a campus as large as an airport, there were foul souls scurrying about.

 It was dead silent everywhere.

 Su Yanying did not find this strange. Naturally, she knew where everyone had gone.

 There was a huge stadium-like venue at the end of the plaza.

 At the moment, the sounds of people cheering were coming out of this place. Even people standing at the gate of the academy could faintly hear that sound.

 The afternoon match was still ongoing!

 “Hurry up!” Su Yanying said to the Lighting Rat that was following her. Then, she sped up and pressed forward.

 

She had wasted too much time on her trip to the pet store. Luckily, her match was scheduled for later in the afternoon. It would start at around four.

 That being said, if the competitors in the matches before hers were to fail too quickly, her match would be moved up.