Su Ping was unable to find his tongue.
Everyone found a reason to stay.
But at the end of the day, there was just one reason.
They were willing to stay! They knew that other legendary battle pet warriors were having the time of their lives idling away, yet they chose to stay. It sounded foolish. But it just so happened that it was that bunch of fools who were sticking to the cardinal principles of righteousness.
Someone had to step up.
Some chose to allow for people to step up or even push others out and some were happy to commit by themselves!
No one would know if they perished down there. Still, they were willing to fight for a brighter future for the world above!
Those legendary battle pet warriors disrupted Su Ping's view of the Tower.
He had been terribly disappointed by the things he had seen in the Tower. It was a disgrace to see a group of the most powerful people on the Blue Planet behaving like that. He found it ridiculous and disgusting to see them amusing themselves!
He finally understood that those people were just some sand grains being swept away by the great waves.
Gold was buried deeper underground.
Those people were the worthy members of the Tower!
The Blue Planet would have been overrun by the beasts if everyone were like those people up there in the Tower.
Yun Wanli was frozen on the spot.
He had thought that the legendary battle pet warriors would be hopping mad after Su Ping's disclosure of the truth about the Tower. But they knew. They accepted it.
They were even discussing it casually. Yun Wanli was at a loss for words. He had been in the Tower. He knew what it was like.
An old man patted Su Ping's shoulder and comforted him, “Brother Su, you're still young, don't mind those things. People are different; we just have to be ourselves.” Su Ping remembered that the man had asked him about the Lin family.
“Probably,” Su Ping said, sparing them his opinions.
He didn't say anything else; he had made up his mind.
Those people were guarding the Deep Caves and he was more than happy to help them. Of course, first things first. He had to find Su Lingyue, alive or dead.
“That is our home.”
A middle-aged man pointed ahead, putting that depressing topic to rest.
Su Ping raised his head. Leaping into view was a small hill, which looked just like any other he had spotted as they traveled.
The air rippled and from inside came an old man. He looked around, his sight lingering on Su Ping and Yun Wanli. “Where's our boss, man?” He sounded worried.
“Don't worry, he's contacting someone. He will be back soon.”
“There were rioting beasts today, but we stopped them. This is Brother Su. That's Brother Yun.”
“Come on, let's go in.”
The old man was relieved to hear that Ye Wuxiu was fine. He sized Su Ping and Yun Wanli up and down. He felt confused after sensing that Su Ping was merely at the t.i.tled rank, but he didn't probe on the matter.
Yun Wanli and Su Ping followed them into their base.
That small hill was just a landmark; the base was hidden inside a seal.
Mo told them that the seal had been built with a powerful artifact and the seal could hide them perfectly well. They had been able to build a base and survive for hundreds of years in the Deep Caves, all thanks to that seal.
The first master of the Tower was the one who had left behind the artifact.
He went down to explore the Deep Caves but never returned from that trip. He had pa.s.sed away, a long, long time before.
Inside the seal was a land of idyllic beauty with streams and green plants everywhere, which was a sharp contrast to the white world outside.
Su Ping was surprised. He then thought of his scroll; Yan Bingyue was still being kept inside. The scroll, too, was an artifact in which people were able to live.
But the world inside the scroll was not as vast as that place.
A heavy burden was lifted off their hearts once they stepped into the seal's territory. Some went to fix up something to eat and drink while others arranged and stored the materials they had harvested from the beasts. The others remained close to Su Ping and Yun Wanli and were peppering them with questions about the world outside.
“I haven't heard about the Lin family in a while. I'm an indoors man.”
“A what man now?”
“It means I usually just stay at home instead of running about. You can ask Yun here. Look at his white hair; he knows more.”
“You don't run about? You ran to the Deep Caves, dude.” “Brother Yun, tell us.”
They s.h.i.+fted their focus to Yun Wanli since they couldn't find the answers they wanted from Su Ping. The latter had no other choice but to answer the questions, one by one.
Yun Wanli was grateful and respectful of the legendary battle pet warriors. He told them everything he knew.
“Brother Su, are you really at the t.i.tled rank? You would soon become a captain if you're willing to come here, once you reach the legendary rank.”
An old man sat by Su Ping, named Senior Li.
His full name was Li Yuanfeng, currently at the Void State, much like Ye Wuxiu was. Still, Ye Wuxiu was actually more powerful than him because the former's battle pets were more aggressive and his Force Field much more intimidating!
There were eleven legendary battle pet warriors stationed in that Field of Ice.
Three of them were at the Void State.
But the three of them were able to summon Force Fields; the usual would be for only those at the Fate State and beyond to manage this!
Force Fields were different as well.
Few were at the Fate State on the Blue Planet. As such, no one bothered to make a clear distinction between Force Fields' strengths. That being said, those legendary battle pet warriors had been fighting against beasts for a long time; they were able to gauge the strengths of their Force Fields based on experience.
“I'll come here when I find my sister, even if I don't reach the legendary rank,” Su Ping said. He couldn't sit around in his store selling pets after learning that legendary battle pet warriors were fighting with their lives on the line below ground.
He would have never cared about the Deep Caves if everyone were like those people living in the Tower. If it were so, he would just focus on keeping the Longjiang Base City safe, even if the world was spiraling toward doom. But this day, he found that many people had been sacrificing their lives without bragging about it. He couldn't sit around and do nothing
“Brother Su, I've never seen anyone like you, but I still suggest you come back after you reach the legendary rank. Whether you can merge with your pets or not is a very different matter. You will also play a bigger role when you reach the legendary rank. I don't want to see you die young… That would be a shame.” Li Yuanfeng chuckled.
Su Ping nodded.
Right then, a legendary battle pet warrior holding a plate of roasted beast ribs came along. A tasty smell of spices overwhelmed those present.
“Now, come on, let's have something nice to eat to welcome our new friends.” The man laughed.
The roasted ribs were served, floating a few feet off the ground. Su Ping smelled their delicious aroma. It was interesting. “How did you get spices here?”
“We've asked the bros at the entrance to get us some. Recycling astral powers is enough to sustain our lives, but we still have the craving to eat with our very own mouths every now and then,” Li Yuanfeng said. He sliced off a big chunk of meat and gave it to Su Ping.
Su Ping took a bite; it was tasty.
He heard someone arrive. Ye Wuxiu and the legendary battle pet warrior surnamed Chen had returned. They smiled once they saw the feast. Ye Wuxiu approached Su Ping and said, “Brother Su, I asked around. Our friends from the Field of Flames might have met your sister.”
“For real?”
Su Ping stood up with a start.
“Calm down. They just said might,” Ye Wuxiu said, “The Field of Flames was the closest to entrance No.7 a week ago. The guards saw some unusual dragon footprints while on patrol; they thought that some new kinds of beasts were running wild, but I told them about you. Does your sister have a dragon?” Su Ping was trembling. Dragon's footprints? They might have been left by the Moonfrost Dragon.
“Yes, she has a Moonfrost Dragon!” Su Ping said at once, “How do I get to the Field of Flames?”
Ye Wuxiu was not surprised. Dragons weren't easily obtained by the average battle pet warriors, but it wasn't surprising for his sister to have a dragon, given his strength.
“So, I think it's indeed a clue about your sister, but I have to say that it may also be that a dragon is trying to get out,” Ye Wuxiu cautioned Su Ping, “We would have to go through the Corridor to get to the Field of Flames; it's a place where many beasts are lurking. The Five Fields are like the five rings of a circle and the Corridors are the things which connect the five rings. The beasts you saw us fighting came from the Corridor.
“There are pa.s.sageways to the deeper levels of the Deep Caves in the Corridors.
“All the beasts are living in the deepest level, their lair.”