Regret arrived as soon as he finished this self-pep talk.

Anyone could say bold words to seek a momentary gratification… But not everyone went and did bold things! The Longjiang Base City had a large population, and yet he had given in to impulse…

“Stop hesitating. Go and get ready. I have to go back now.” Su Ping saw how Xie Jinshui was showing his hesitant nature again, so he decided to snap him out of it. He left the office soon after.

Xie Jinshui watched as Su Ping left, feeling powerless. From that moment on, he would have to place all his hope on Su Ping.

Prepare for war!

Su Ping went directly back to his store.

Since the Longjiang Base City had failed to become part of the Xing-Jing Defense Line, they would have to rely on themselves. Su Ping knew that someone in the Tower was targeting him, but that was not the time for him to seek revenge.

“Brother Leng, do you have time? We need more people at the Longjiang Base City.”

Su Ping called Leng Yingjun—Venerable the Blade—at once after he returned.

“Mr. Su, I heard about your base city. I was at the head office of the Xing-Jing Defense Line when Mr. Qin went there.”

Leng Yingjun heaved a sigh and continued, “I became aware of the situation but was unable to do anything about it. I am so sorry. But if Longjiang is in danger, I will be there.”

Su Ping raised his eyebrows. “Don't worry about it, this had nothing to do with you. Do you know who suggested excluding our base city?”

“Well…” Leng Yingjun sounded hesitant but he eventually answered, “A senior legendary battle pet warrior of the Tower did, but I'm not at liberty to tell you the name because I… am a member of the Tower!”

Su Ping was surprised. “You're a member of the Tower? You've finally reached the legendary rank?”

“Yes, and I'm mortified to say that.”

Leng Yingjun forced a bitter smile. “I have to thank you, Mr. Su. I reached the legendary rank because of the beast king you sold me. I was able to feel the special energy harnessed by beast kings through the bond of the contract, which later inspired me; I was able to get through the bottleneck. If it weren't for the beast king, I don't know how much longer I would be stuck. I might have never been able to take the final step!”

“Congratulations!” Su Ping was glad. There was one more legendary battle pet warrior with a sense of responsibility. “The Tower called me soon after I reached the legendary rank. I joined the Tower for the greater good of humanity.” Leng Yingjun felt a bit embarra.s.sed. “I've heard about the matters between you and the Tower. I…”

“I don't hate the Tower. I hate my enemies,” Su Ping cut him off and said with a smiling voice, “Whichever organization you joined, the fact that you're a legendary battle pet warrior is a happy occasion. When time allows, come to visit and I will hand you a gift.”

“Mr. Su…” Leng Yingjun didn't know what to say.

He felt too mortified to meet Su Ping after joining the Tower. It was thanks to the beast king that Su Ping sold him that he had been able to reach the legendary rank.

He wouldn't have been inspired without that beast king. It just so happened that the breakthrough came at a critical time. The t.i.tled rank was no longer enough in those trying times. Several legendary battle pet warriors had pa.s.sed away. He was indebted to Su Ping.

“Okay, I have to call someone else. See you,” Su Ping said.

Leng Yingjun heard the call end and he put down his phone after a few seconds of silence… In the meantime, Su Ping started to call others.

Wu Guansheng was the second person he called.

Su Lingyue's teacher.

Wu Guansheng was at the peak of the t.i.tled rank; but different from Venerable the Blade, the former was an expert in healing. His own combat strength was not strong, but it would be much better than 1+1 = 2 when he a.s.sisted others!

“No problem,” Wu Guansheng answered without hesitation.

Su Ping was touched by Wu Guansheng's att.i.tude. He could not imagine how he had become friends with a t.i.tled warrior whom he had coerced into staying.

Su Ping didn't call a third person; as a matter of fact, there were only a few t.i.tled battle pet warriors he knew. People like Yun Wanli and Han Yuxiang had to protect their own base cities. The Longyang Base City was important because of the entrance to the Deep Caves, making it an easy target.

“If we do end up needing more people, the Qin family, the Zhou family and the Ye family have many t.i.tled battle pet warriors,” Su Ping said to himself.

The Longjiang Base City did have a large population of t.i.tled battle pet warriors.

However, compared to the number of wild beasts, their numbers were only a drop in the bucket. That being said, t.i.tled battle pet warriors could sign contracts with beast kings.

If every t.i.tled battle pet warrior in Longjiang could be equipped with a beast king… Longjiang would have enough power to defend itself, even if dozens of beast kings were to come!

Su Ping thought of a plan.

Head office of the Xing-Jing Defense Line.

The place had been up in the Douxing Base City. Both Douxing and Longjing competed openly and covertly. Eventually, the Longjing Base City gave in. More and more battle pet warriors started pouring into Douxing after the head office was set up. t.i.tled battle pet warriors from the 11 base cities which made the defensive line would make frequent trips to report. More than twenty legendary battle pet warriors had been appointed to the head office by the Tower. One of the twenty was at the Void State, a healthy man in his old age. “Hmm, just a legendary battle pet warrior at the Ocean State. How dare he come to us and argue!”

An old man was sitting on a wooden chair with the engravings of a phoenix and a dragon.

“That Qin dude refused to join the Tower. Stupid thing!”

“He thought he could do better by b.u.t.tering up that guy Su in the Longjiang Base City, instead of joining us. How ridiculous!”

“Right. Joining the Tower is not to gain benefits; it's all for the greater good of humanity!”

“We are managing all the base cities across the world and we work hard with both mind and body. That Qin dude is a lowly, pandering ingrate. What does he know about difficulties?”

The other three legendary battle pet warriors in the room sneered.

The old man snorted. “How is the Longjiang Base City doing? Has that guy Su called to beg or ask someone to do it on his behalf?”

“No, not for now.”

“Who would be foolish enough to beg for that kid's sake. He killed several legendary battle pet warriors. He's a traitor to human society!”

“Don't worry. He will come and beg when the beast strike arrives.”

The three legendary battle pet warriors laughed. They could even see how Su Ping would beg before them when the strike came. “Never mind. We should be prepared. The Master has entrusted this defense line to me. We cannot afford to make mistakes,” the old man interrupted them.

“You're right, Lord Nie.”

“We gave a chance to the Longjiang Base City but they refused to relocate. They are only seeking their own doom.”

“With Lord Nie here, even if wild beasts come to the Longjing Base City, we will surely be able to defend it.”

The old man nodded. “Speaking of which, Longjing is important because it also has an entrance to the Deep Caves. That place is our priority. Report anything out of the ordinary immediately.”

“That is correct.

“Longjing has a Heaven Executor who will take care of the Deep Caves, so I don't think we need to be worried.”

“Anyway, those Heaven Executors hide in the base cities. What are they protecting?”

“I heard that some base cities that have no entrances to the Deep Caves have Heaven Executors as well, Longjiang for example…” “Humph!” The old man suddenly darted a cold glance at the three. “The strike is upon us; I suggest you leave those messy thoughts to rest. You don't have the authority to ask about the Heaven Executors. That is top secret and even I am being kept in the dark. Be careful. The Master may hear this.”

“Discussing Heaven Executors is forbidden!”

The other people smiled apologetically and no longer touched that subject. They hid their curiosity deep inside. Even the Tower regarded that topic as top secret. How interesting.

In the meantime

Longjiang Base City.

Su Ping was about to close the door to visit a cultivation site when his father Su Yuanshan arrived. “Ping, is this your store?” Su Yuanshan stood by the door and looked around.

Su Ping smiled. “I got the store from you. This is our store.”