While the platform server was almost brought down, the other popular websites posted the same advertis.e.m.e.nt as well. For a time, the advertis.e.m.e.nt was visible to anyone who was surfing the internet.

As people were reading the advertis.e.m.e.nt, all the netizens across the Longjiang intranet were seething with excitement!

The champions.h.i.+p?!!

This was the Elite League that was held once every three years. The countless partic.i.p.ants would be like a school of silver carps moving down a stream.

Of the entire Longjiang Base City, at least one million would be joining!

The Elite League was a great event that could attract universal attention!

Numerous partic.i.p.ants were counting on the Elite League to best others and make their names known!

How could anyone declare that a person could simply pay to become the champion?

To make a simple a.n.a.logy, many people were waiting for a peach to grow up. However, even before the flower bore fruit, someone had already claimed that the peach would be his!

It was unacceptable!

More importantly, this was the Elite League. Winning the champions.h.i.+p would be more difficult than anyone could imagine. Not even the superfamilies could boast that their young talents were able to claim the champions.h.i.+p with certainty!

The one that said those words had an exaggerated opinion of his abilities, just like being oblivious about the immensity of heaven and earth!

“Is Pixie going crazy?”

“Dear G.o.d, the champions.h.i.+p. He made it sound as if winning the champions.h.i.+p was child's play.” “Is he losing his mind because they're competing with Primo?” “I heard that Primo stole all of Pixie's business. The boss must be desperate.”

“He's such a bada**. What does it say in the advertis.e.m.e.nt? One hundred million and he can make me a champion? Let me see… I think I can buy one hundred champions with my a.s.sets!”

“Hey, dude, wake up, or I will pee on you.”

“One hundred million and he can make a champion. I would trust it more if he had said one billion. What could one hundred million do?”

“Drop it. Can't you see? Pixie is cornered and trying to steal the spotlight. But they made a bad joke. I'm here to see if they have the courage to post the list of people who bought the package, just like Primo did. When the compet.i.tion begins, I will watch them throughout the process.”

There were clamors of comments on the internet. After the initial shock, most people were expressing their doubts. After all, winning a champions.h.i.+p contained too many uncertainties. Ensuring that someone would become the champion sounded more like a publicity stunt than a genuine business deal.

Because of the compet.i.tion between the Pixie Pet Store and Primo, many people were of the conviction that Pixie was making ill-informed decisions since they were desperate.

And yet, some believed that they could visit Pixie and give it a try since the store was so confident. After all, the Inferno Dragon was a real deal. At the very least, they could try the Top 10 and Top 100 packages.

Once again, the name Pixie Pet Store became a repeated topic in discussion.

Uptown. In a huge mansion.

The Qin family.

The largest family in the Longjiang Base City. The Qin family had always been trying to keep a low profile while housing many t.i.tled battle pet warriors. Only those of society's upper crust were fully aware of the Qin family's might.

Naturally, the news online reached the Qin family. Being the largest family, they had always been well-informed. Of course, a piece of news that everyone knew would not escape them.

“Champion?”

“What kind of store is this? How dare they say this? How arrogant of them!”

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“Just some contemptible scoundrel trying to gain attention. That is one of the deep-rooted bad habits of those despicable businessmen. Do not pay any mind.”

“Anyways, that store has the Inferno Dragon. What is the store's background?”

“Hmm, we can go and find out. We will most certainly win first place. How dare a store claim they can make someone the champion? I cannot wait to see who is behind all this!”

“Hey, settle down. Actually… I know the boss.”

“Eh?”

In one of the older houses, several aged men were gathered together. All of them were p.i.s.sed off by the Pixie Pet Store's advertis.e.m.e.nt.

They wouldn't have paid any attention to any generic commercial that would spout a lot of nonsense. It just so happened that, as small as the store was, the Pixie Pet Store had a rare pet, the Inferno Dragon. Judging by the promotional campaigns and the spokesperson the store hired, they could tell that the store was not in want of budget, which indicated that the store came from a very influential background. A person with such a background had thrown those big words. This was like a slap on the Qin Family's face.

Champions.h.i.+p? Then where did it ever stray from the Qin Family's hands?!

“Shuhai? What do you mean? Tell us.” One of the old men frowned.

Sitting at the center was a learned and refined middle-aged man named Qin Shuhai, who had returned home for a short time. Usually, he would travel around in other base cities and he would hardly stay in Longjiang Base City. He had never expected that he would happen to learn such a sensational piece of news this time he was back.

“Uncle Three, I met the store owner back in the Mysterious Realm. As a matter of fact, I did forge some sort of friends.h.i.+p with him. He is quite powerful, at least a t.i.tled battle pet warrior, a rare talent,” Qin Shuhai answered with a forced smile.

His answer took the others by surprise. The old man who posed the question before was confused. “t.i.tled battle pet warrior? Are you talking about the kid minding the store? He's quite young, isn't he?”

“Yes. I suppose he is not yet twenty. If he were to partic.i.p.ate, I believe he would win first place in Longjiang.” Qin Shuhai's forced smile lingered on his face.

As soon as he uttered those words, the other older men suddenly became stunned.

They were aware that Qin Shuhai was considered a talent in the Qin family, more powerful than his t.i.tled battle pet warrior peers. He would never be wrong about others. Wouldn't his comments mean that this young store owner was potentially more of a genius than their current future family head?

Qin Shuhai inwardly heaved a sigh. He had met Su Ping several times when the latter exited and entered the Mysterious Realm repeatedly. Su Ping always acted alone but when he went through the checkpoint, Qin Shuhai had found cores of various ninth-rank beasts in his backpack.

If Su Ping merely had one or two such cores, then he might be seen as lucky. But since he had harvested many ninth-rank beasts' cores, the only explanation was that he was a capable man.

“Of all the people I met, this young man is one of the best. I wouldn't believe it if he told me that he had no teacher.” Qin Shuhai glanced over the others in the room.

“I have a suggestion. I hope you won't intervene in the compet.i.tion between the two stores. I heard that Fengyuan and this young man teach in the same academy and they know each other well. I believe that being on friendly terms with the young man is better.

“As for the champions.h.i.+p? Sure, his store did post this advertis.e.m.e.nt. But he's not saying that we cannot fight for the first place. Winning is dependent on the partic.i.p.ants' strength. He can advertise all he wants and we can strive to win all we want. There's no need to find us an enemy over a contention of mouth and tongue.”

He rested his case. The others looked at one another blankly.

One of them frowned. “Since when was the Qin Family afraid of troubles? Considering how arrogant this young man is, teaching him a lesson is necessary. We need to show him who is making decisions in the Longjiang Base City!”

The others kept silent in deep thoughts.

A moment later, the current family head broke the silence. “We will follow Shuhai's advice on this matter. It's better to save us the trouble, as the store is not targeting the Qin family. Besides, the teacher of this talent cannot be a simple character. We do not need to find ourselves a new enemy because of some argument.”

The others nodded. They favored the more conservative way.

The old man who held different ideas was unhappy since no one had seconded his suggestion.

“Go back and have your people behave. Young people can be impulsive. Tell them to focus on their cultivation and ignore those trivial matters.”

“Yes, sir.”

At the same time, the other major families in the city had learned the news as well. All of them had been irked by this simple advertis.e.m.e.nt.

The Mu family chose not to pay any heed, regarding Su Ping as some insane clown.

The Ye family and Zhou family flew into a rage. They wanted to create some trouble for the store.

At the Liu family estate

News had spread to every corner of the Liu family domain. This store was going against the Liu family specifically. Every Liu family member hated Su Ping's guts.

“He is losing hope. Hmm, he is bringing his own ruin.”

When Liu Tianzong received the news, he grinned with sarcasm. Su Ping had offended many other families by issuing this advertis.e.m.e.nt. Liu Tianzong believed that, in addition to the Liu Family, the other major families would not be able to swallow the humiliation, either.

The Qin Family Head was an old, sly fox that could keep calm. The c.o.c.ky one in the Mu family might not pay attention. However, Liu Tianzong was convinced that he could egg the Zhou family and the Ye family to act. To make a third party the instrument of a crime was a true pleasure.

“Tell Liu Yuan to publish the list and try something to force Su Ping to post their list. Once the list is out there, after the Elite League begins, everyone on the list will become the target of public criticism, especially the one going for the champions.h.i.+p. Hmm, the day that person fails before the end game will be the day that the store perishes!” Liu Tianzong said to a servant.

“Yes, sir.” the servant answered with great respect.

Sitting across the chessboard, an old man in a purple robe darted Liu Tanzong a glance. “Oh, how heartless of you. You draw blood with one p.r.i.c.k.”

Liu Tianzong smiled. “If I cannot, why do I bother to make the move?”