Qin Shaotian and the others had learned about what happened in the Pixie Pet Store. Being the future family head of the Qin family, Qin Shaotian knew more details than people like Ye Hao.

A legendary battle pet warrior was in the store! The Tang family lost two thousand master battle pet warriors! Both were particularly appalling news! What happened was beyond reason and comprehension. Su Ping was not a person that the five major families could afford to provoke.

Qin Shaotian wore a grave expression as he stared at Su Ping who was a few years younger than he was. Qin Shaotian became more determined to grow and develop; the events that took place during the Elite League this year had dealt a heavy blow on him. Both Su Lingyue and Yan Bingyue had been able to defeat him easily. They had crushed his confidence.

As to the young man running the store, he was so horrifying that Qin Shaotian had never considered catching up to him. The gap between them was too huge! Standing on the side, Mu Shuangwan had been seized by terror and tension. She had sat with the young man not long before, to talk about shooting advertis.e.m.e.nts and contracts. But this day, her own family head had paid a visit and even he had to remain standing because he wasn't qualified to sit down with the young man. It was true that she canceled the contract but she had paid him and they ended the contract on good terms. That being said, it was a fact that she had abandoned the store when it was at a critical juncture. She only hoped that Su Ping would go easy on her, not being too particular about what happened between them. Otherwise, she would never be able to make it up to him, not even with her own life. As for the company president who had forced her to cancel the contract, he had already been removed from office. Once a successful man in the family, he had ended up unemployed and was even grounded. He couldn't leave the family premises freely anymore. Everything that happened in the family was a testimony of the young man's terror. She was filled with regret. She could have insisted on cooperating with Su Ping; if only she had known… Then the Mu family would have built up a connection with Su Ping, all thanks to her. She would have made a great contribution to the family; the branch she had been born in would be taken in higher regard and treated well by the Mu family. However, because of one wrong decision, she had to leave her fate up to Su Ping. Even her side of the family had been marginalized by the Mu family in general. Ye Hao and Zhou Chuan were too scared to breathe. Those who were standing there had freaked them out.

They had never seen so many t.i.tled battle pet warriors in one place. And there were so many family heads present. Even meeting their own family heads was difficult. After all, neither Zhou Chuan nor Ye Hao were the most favored people in their respective families. They had been brought there only because their families had found out that they had gone to Su Ping's store once. Neither expected that they would have to be in such a stressful situation. Of the Liu family, Liu Tianzong, Liu Jianxin, Liu Yuan, and another family elder were standing by the side, with their hands down. They didn't even dare to raise their heads and look at the young man. Liu Tianzong had turned pale the moment he saw Xie Gange and the Tang family elders. When he noticed that they were standing there, afraid of Su Ping, he looked even worse. He had heard about what happened in the Pixie Pet Store from his family elders. How could he know that there was a legendary battle pet warrior in Su Ping's store? Having learned that, Liu Tianzong finally understood why his requests to the government for information about the store had received no response.

It turned out that the mayor had been in the know regarding the horrors of the store! Between the legendary battle pet warrior and the Liu family, the mayor had chosen the legendary battle pet warrior without the slightest hesitation. The mayor had even been afraid to leak the information of the store in case the legendary battle pet warrior would blame him! Liu Tianzong felt remorseful and angry. If he had known about the existence of the legendary battle pet warrior, he would have never tried to compete against the store. Liu Tianzong was filled with despair at the moment. His last hope was that the young man would be merciful.

In the meantime, Su Ping had finished browsing through the Star Organization's list of treasures. He picked some and said to Xie Gange, “Can you bring them over to me tomorrow?” Xie Gange saw the items that Su Ping had picked out. Swallowing down the pain in his heart, he took a deep breath and said, “Sure!”

“Good.”

Su Ping nodded. Then he s.h.i.+fted his sight to the five family heads, squinting his eyes. The families had merely sent over family elders the first time he invited them. This day, he had not issued them an invitation but the family heads had decided to come in person. True. Without strength, he wouldn't be valued and nothing he said would be of importance. “Nice to see you all. What has brought you here?” Su Ping asked, while fully aware of the answer.

Qin Duhuang, a man of affairs, managed to keep the smile on his face. “Mr. Su, I was under the weather last time you invited me to come and was unable to be here in person. I'm here today to apologize.” He didn't beat around the bush nor work up some excuse. He said he was there to apologize directly. At the same time, he took out a gift for Su Ping. Su Ping darted a look at the box but didn't make a move to take it. Instead, he shot a glance at Tang Ruyan. She understood the meaning of the glance and walked over to receive the gift. Qin Duhuang knew that the girl was the fake future family head that the Tang family had tried to rescue. The Tang family had lost two thousand master battle pet warriors because of this girl. Even Qin Duhuang, an outsider, felt his heart ache when he heard about this.

There weren't even two thousand master battle pet warriors in the entire Longjiang Base City. So many master battle pet warriors had perished because of one spear. The Tang family had to be furious! “You don't have to apologize, and I understand that you weren't feeling well. I said last time that there are some things I need. I hope you can help me find them. Of course, I won't make you work for free. Anyone who can help me find the materials will receive all the treasures that I just received,” Su Ping said. The treasures could be of some help to him, but in comparison, he valued more about his strength.

He hoped he could reach the second level of the Solar Bulwark faster. By then, his physical strength would be comparable to the legendary rank. That would be the day when he would really become a powerful battle pet warrior, and even be one of the rulers of the planet! The Tang family elders and Xie Gange were a bit surprised and embarra.s.sed. It seemed that Su Ping didn't value the treasures he had picked. That was to say, Su Ping had better things. Besides, it was a surprise that Su Ping was putting such a strong focus on the materials he was seeking and was willing to trade with the treasures.

At first, Qin Duhuang and the other family heads were in a daze. But their confusion didn't last for long. They were smart enough to realize that Su Ping was a pragmatic man. It wasn't a big deal that they had angered Su Ping before and the trivial disputes could be water under the bridge. Su Ping was in dire need of those materials; anyone who could help him find those materials would get closer to him.

This was a great chance for them!

Mu Beihai, family head of the Mu family, made a solemn promise, “Mr. Su, don't worry. The Mu family will do everything possible to find the things you need.” It was uncommon for a family head to speak to a young man so respectfully. The fact that Mu Beihai was willing to swallow his pride made Qin Duhuang think better of him. The family heads of the Zhou family and the Ye family also promised him to help. Afterward, Su Ping turned to the Liu family. “Anything you want to tell me?” Everyone turned to see the Liu family, including the Tang family elders and Xie Gange. After the Tang family and Xie Gange suffered a loss in that exchange, they had been trying to use every means possible to collect information about Su Ping's store. In that process, they found out about the past conflicts between the Liu family and Su Ping. They felt the Liu family had done ridiculous things. A local family in the Longjiang Base City had angered a local legendary battle pet warrior. How ignorant could they be? Liu Tianzong was drenched in cold sweat as he felt the stares from Su Ping and the others. The great tension had made him tremble. Beyond nervous, he could not even utter a single word without his throat feeling sore and his voice faltering. “Mr. Mr. Su, I have eyes but I failed to recognize a great person. The Liu family is willing to give you half of our family a.s.sets to ease your anger. I have found out about the root cause of this event. This is the owner of our Primo pet store, I have brought him over. You can do whatever you want about him,” said Liu Tianzong and dragged Liu Yuan to where Su Ping was.

Liu Yuan was shaking, and ghastly pale. Ever since Liu Jianxin failed to make it to the Top 10, Primo's businesses had been on a steep decline.

Liu Yuan wasn't even able to enjoy his past high status, either. His status suffered a disastrous fall. Five days prior, he was removed from all positions and then kept under house arrest. His side of the family had been under close watch ever since. It was as if the Liu family was giving upon them. Everyone in his branch felt insecure.

Later, Liu Yuan found out that the store he was competing against had a legendary battle pet warrior. He was frozen on the spot when he was informed of that fact.

As Liu Tianzong pushed him to the front, Liu Yuan felt all hope had been lost.

He knew that his death couldn't be avoided.

He also knew that the family head had promised that his family branch would be spared in exchange for his death. “Mr. Su, I am sorry. I will accept all punishment, be it death or not, however you see fit.” Liu Yuan dropped to his knees and put his head on the ground. Su Ping darted a look at him. He wasn't interested in killing him. Liu Yuan was merely a scapegoat. This man might have started the compet.i.tion but he couldn't have acted without the support of the entire Liu family. Otherwise, where would he have gotten the two top-level battle pets he placed outside the Primo store, which were on par with his Inferno Dragon?

But Su Ping didn't plan on getting to the bottom of this. The Liu family would be practically ruined after giving him half of their family a.s.sets.

As for the scapegoat, Su Ping didn't mean to kill him. He would, of course, leave such a talent to the Liu family. They could do whatever they wanted with him. As far as he was concerned, Liu Yuan could be named the family head and he wouldn't have a problem with that.

“Forget it. I don't want to see blood today. You can all go home. As for your family a.s.sets, calculate the amount and transfer the money directly to me. I'm not interested in running your companies,” Su Ping said. Liu Tianzong was surprised. “Thank you, Mr. Su, for your kindness!” he said in a hurry. If money was all that Su Ping wanted, then the Liu family's loss would be less severe. After all, the companies would still be there. They would be able to develop again, as long as they could make it through a tough period. At the same time, the other family heads felt bad about such a decision. If the Liu family would have been condemned, the families could have devoured what was left of them to make up for their losses. While they were about to say their goodbyes to leave, another car pulled over.

Soon, a middle-aged man walked in, as well as three t.i.tled battle pet warriors.

“It's the mayor.”

“Mayor Xie.”

“It's him…”

The five family heads were a bit mad at the middle-aged man.

They wouldn't have offended Su Ping if the mayor had told them about the store's strength. As a matter of fact, they would have tried to get in his good books earlier. Xie Jinshui didn't expect to see that many people in the store. The incidents between the five families and Su Ping cleared up his confusion. He noticed the anger in the family heads' eyes. However, he kept the smile on his face as if unable to see how upset they were. He had displeased the five major families by hiding from them all the information about the legendary battle pet warrior in Su Ping's store. But compared to a legendary battle pet warrior, the five major families were not worth mentioning Besides, he had upset them. So what? It wasn't like the five families would make a coalition and revolt. The only thing that could unite the five families was interest, not hatred nor friends.h.i.+p. “Mr. Su, I am Xie Jinshui, mayor of the Longjiang Base City, the people's servant. I have heard that you're a teacher at the Phoenix Peak Academy. As a matter of fact, we do share some connections.”

Xie Jinshui exchanged pleasantries as soon as he came into the door.

“Oh?”

So, this man is the top leader of the Longjiang Base City. “A friend of my daughter's cousin studies in the Phoenix Peak Academy and she may have attended your lectures. But I've also heard that you don't go to the academy often. I feel so sorry for the students,” Xie Jinshui said. The others eyed him as if he were crazy. A friend of your daughter's cousin?

Could you come up with someone even more distantly related?

Su Ping was also speechless. Though it sounded ridiculous, he could tell that Xie Jinshui had come with sincerity. “Please have a seat,” Su Ping said. Xie Jinshui was surprised that of all the people standing around, Su Ping would ask him to sit down. Su Ping must think highly of me. “Thank you, Mr. Su.”

While this was the first time Xie Jinshui had met the young man, he could tell that Su Ping was not someone who favored false displays of affection. As such, Xie Jinshui sat down. “Sir, I've heard that you locked up the street,” Su Ping said, “You know, I'm a businessman. If the street is off limits, I won't have any business.”

Nervously, Xie Jinshui was very close to stand up and apologize. But he pushed down the urge since he noticed that Su Ping was not blaming him. To stand up would be embarra.s.sing, as a matter of fact. “Mr. Su, you're right. That was ill-considered. I thought you were merely playing around with the store.” Xie Jinshui reacted quickly. Su Ping was speechless. Why does everyone think I'm merely playing around? Am I too handsome to be a businessman?

“Truth be told, I am as serious with the business as anyone can be.” Since the five family heads were also there, Su Ping took the chance. “Anyone who affects my business is my opponent. Following the same logic, anyone who comes to support my store will be my friend.”

The five family heads looked at each other.

The Tang family elders and Xie Gange were just as baffled.

There's a legendary battle pet warrior here and you have such a great talent, and now you're telling us you're a serious businessman?! Why would you waste time you could spend cultivating on doing business? Was this all to experience a different lifestyle?

Really? It's not like you could learn some great rules of the world!

No one knew what to say. But since Su Ping was serious, they all committed his words to their memories.

Maybe doing business is just one of this freak's hobbies?

Many people had hobbies. Some liked having affairs, or killing others, for example. Then why couldn't he like doing business?

That had to be the reason. They began to think about how to have a closer relations.h.i.+p with Su Ping by leveraging this information. Everyone was pondering. Su Ping wondered if he had made himself clear.

But that was all that he was going to say. It would be up to them to see how well they could understand.

If you can understand my intention, come often for professional training then! “Mr. Su, the event this time has stirred up a huge sensation. I took the liberty to block the information to protect your privacy, since I couldn't find you anywhere in the past few days. If you're okay with people knowing, I will no longer block the news. If you want to withdraw from society and continue to live here, I will keep your information confidential. What do you think?” Xie Jinshui gazed at Su Ping. He preferred that Su Ping could keep on living there.

The store had been in the base city for a long time but only recently did he learn about the legendary battle pet warrior living in the store. There were two legendary battle pet warriors in the Sub-continent District but the girl was not one of them.

The one in the store was surely one of those that preferred living in solitude.

That was why he chose to protect Su Ping's information.

He didn't even tell the family heads when they came to him for information about the store. He was afraid that he would anger the legendary powerhouse. After all, for those living in solitude, the most unacceptable thing was that their information would become public knowledge. Besides, it was rare that a legendary battle pet warrior would visit the base city. Xie Jinshui would loathe to anger Su Ping to a point that he would want to move to another base city. Su Ping was surprised to hear that. “Just let it be. You don't have to keep anything confidential on purpose.” Su Ping didn't mind if people learned about the legendary battle pet warrior in the store. As a matter of fact, that would do good to the reputation of the store. Xie Jinshui was baffled. He must have misjudged the legendary battle pet warrior who turned out not to be a hermit. Xie Jinshui was afraid to voice his confusion. “Sure. You can contact me at any time if needed. Here's my number. Do you want to keep it?”

“Okay,” Su Ping said. Since he was living in the Longjiang Base City, it was inevitable that he would have to trouble Xie Jinshui for some matters in the future. It would be best if he could contact him easily. Xie Jinshui smiled as Su Ping typed the number into his phone. To be able to build a relations.h.i.+p with a person that was close to a legendary battle pet warrior would mean forging a relations.h.i.+p with the legendary battle pet warrior directly. Su Ping had even greater potential than people like Venerable the Blade. If Su Ping could reach the legendary rank, then what Xie Jinshui had done this day would be worthwhile!

An investment in friends.h.i.+p!

“Anything else you would want me to know, Mr. Su?” Xie Jinshui said politely without a.s.suming an air of an official. Su Ping shook his head. “Just unblock my street. Besides that, if you could repair the street so that people can drive here. I will transfer you the money for the repair, of course.”

Xie Jinshui nodded but he waved his hands upon hearing the last few words. “Mr. Su, I cannot let you pay for the repairs. I'm the one running the Longjiang Base City. The street not being in good enough condition is my responsibility. Mr. Su, don't worry. I will also take care of the streets nearby; they should be ready soon. Also, I'm planning on changing this zone into a huge center for battle pets with your pet store at the core and other facilities as support.

“This way, Mr. Su, your store will do much better.”

Su Ping nodded. He shared the same thought about changing the zone into a more prosperous place. “You can tell me whenever you need money from me. I have lots of it.” Su Ping nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Su,” Xie Jinshui said. Qin Duhuang, Mu Beihai, and the others were full of complex thoughts. Xie Jinshui was the one who had gained the most out of the incident. All the five major families had to suffer some losses, to various degrees. However, Xie Jinshui had always known about Su Ping's store.

He came prepared and managed to befriend Su Ping. With Su Ping's store there, the zone would develop soon; it would become a new economic center for the Longjiang Base City. When people learned about the legendary battle pet warrior in the Longjiang Base City, many people would relocate to be close. After all, many wild beasts were outside a base city, which wasn't that safe, per se. However, a base city with a legendary battle pet warrior was different and could attract many human resources. The Longjiang Base City could progress because of that, to eventually become a first-tier base city. That was why Xie Jinshui was eager to cozy up to Su Ping, doing all he could to prevent him from leaving the base city.