Astral Spirit?

He was baffled. Su Ping told the Dark Dragon Hound to take him back to the store at once.

He asked again, “So, the first Tower Master did this so that he himself could reach the Star Rank, but he's long gone; I think this Heaven Lock won't be of any use to him. Why don't we open it? Maybe the Astral Spirit has been born. You can absorb it, won't it give you a chance to reach the Star Rank as well?”

Gu Siping sneered.

He didn't believe for a second that Su Ping was proposing this to help him.

Su Ping was also at the Fate State… If the Astral Spirit was in fact there, Su Ping would surely s.n.a.t.c.h it for himself! “I'm not sure if the Astral Spirit has come into being, and I'm not going to take it if the answer is yes; you know about this now. Don't talk about breaking the formation again, and don't even try to break it. Doom will befall upon us all if the astral powers inside are not enough to generate the Astral Spirit!” Gu Siping cautioned Su Ping.

Su Ping was surprised.

Something was off! The Astral Spirit could aid a person at the Fate State in reaching the Star Rank. How come the first Tower Master didn't care about that?

Did Gu Siping have a way to understand what was going on inside the Heaven Lock and was he waiting for the Astral Spirit to grow up?

That could be the ace card that he was talking about.

Su Ping wanted to s.n.a.t.c.h the Astral Spirit, but it would be of any use to him since he wasn't a Fate State Warrior. Only Gu Siping had such rank in the whole world.

If Gu Siping were to take it, he could at the very least defeat the wild beasts first. Su Ping didn't mind if the latter would try to get back at him once the beast strike was dealt with. Su Ping could lure Gu Siping into his store and let the system do the work! “How many Heaven Executors are there? What is their rank?” Su Ping asked.

Gu Siping was happy to hear that the formation topic had been dropped. “The Heaven Executors are at the Void State; there would usually be one of them in each base city. However, some have recently pa.s.sed away. We only have three or four Heaven Executors at the moment. They will make an appearance when the wild beasts come; you don't have to worry about that.”

Su Ping heaved a sigh. He could not count on the Heaven Executors. Beep!

Gu Siping was surprised to hear the beep sound. Killing intent contorted his face.

No had ever dared to be as disrespectful toward him!

Bear it!

He clenched his fist and pocketed his phone.

Su Ping went back to his store.

He went to see Joanna and asked her about the Astral Spirit.

“Astral Spirit? Ah, yes. If the astral powers are profound enough within a locked s.p.a.ce, they can gradually compress and a spirit of astral powers will come into being!”

Joanna continued, “Astral Spirits can make Fate State Warriors reach the Star Rank. However, breaking through by relying on an Astral Spirit would result in a weak foundation. The rules which said person could learn would be limited to what the Astral Spirit had learned. If there's a chance that the Astral Spirit is more talented and is able to learn powerful rules of nature, the person would become a more powerful Star Rank warrior.

“On the other hand, if the Astral Spirit is weak, then the rules which could be learned would also be weak. “The usual outcome is for the Astral Spirit's rules to be average; only a rare few of them can master more sophisticated rules. Even Superior G.o.ds would be willing to fight over that kind of special Astral Spirit.” Su Ping was intrigued. So, Gu Siping seemed to have been telling him the truth.

It was the first time for him to hear about Astral Spirits. “You have to understand this,” Joanna said, “If you consider the richness of astral powers in this world, a thousand years is not enough time for the Heaven Lock to create an Astral Spirit. And even if there is one, it would surely be of the weak sort. I think you should rely on yourself instead of aiming for the Astral Spirit.”

“Not even in a thousand years?” Su Ping was surprised to hear that.

Joanna rolled her eyes at once. “A thousand years is nothing. A Star Rank being would only consider periods from ten thousand years and beyond as a long. Once they master the rules of nature, the Star rankers can seek help from Superior G.o.ds that master the rules of time to extend their lifespan. By then it would be easy to add a hundred thousand years to their lives. Some of the beings at the Star Rank can even live for a million years, hale and hearty!”

Su Ping was stunned speechless.

A hundred thousand years? A million years?

That should only exist in stories!

A t.i.tled battle pet warrior could only live up to two or three hundred years; legendary rankers could enjoy a lifespan of a thousand years.

That was enough to be astounded. That was why people respected those who were at the legendary rank! He could not even believe that a Star ranker could live for tens, or even hundreds of thousands of years! “Reaching the Star Rank is the true step into the world of cultivation. You… You're still outside the door.” Joanna glanced at Su Ping. She left something unsaid. Although he was still outside the door, he had managed to stick one hand past that threshold!

After all, the fact that he had a rudimentary control over the power of rules while still being at the t.i.tled rank was enough to shock the world.

Joanna's last remark didn't put him off. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “No wonder that guy is not interested. He must know some inside information.”

He had no use for the Astral Spirit. He wouldn't have obstructed the Tower Master if he was waiting for the Astral Spirit. After all, it was a time when every powerful man counted.

Five hours…

Su Ping looked at the time. He went outside again to patrol the area; he called Qin Duhuang while he was at it, in order to collect the materials needed to open the Heaven Lock.

He would get the things ready in advance, just in case he did have to open the formation. That would aid him to act right away.

Time zipped by.

A new day arrived.

The command center was ablaze with light; no one had slept.

The Roaring Thunder Continent was also gone. They were in the last remaining continent; at least two hundred million survivors made the trip over from the Roaring Thunder Continent. Sadly, the rest of the population never got out from the Roaring Thunder Continent.

The news was depressing, but many legendary battle pet warriors were prepared this time.

They had been aware that the casualties would be great when they were planning. After all, the resources had been gathered on that continent. The head office of the Tower was there. That was why they had chosen that continent as the final battleground.

Two hundred million refugees from the Roaring Thunder Continent were stuffed within their defenses with great effort; three Cla.s.s A base cities had been built to house those people.

The legendary battle pet warriors and the major forces were nervous.

That was the last continent.

It was the final battle. They weren't sure if the humans on the Blue Planet would survive to tell the tale.

A feeling of sadness was spread across all the base cities.

A storm was brewing. The general public stayed in their homes; the battle pet warriors —including the low-ranked ones-were preparing themselves for battle.

Pixie Pet Store – Longjiang Base City.

Su Ping heard the system's alert as the ray of twilight shone and entered his store.

The store had been successfully upgraded! The wild beasts didn't arrive during the past 24 hours. Su Ping's mind was set at ease the moment he heard the system's sound.

Never had he found the system's sound as pleasant!

“Hmm, the system's voice is always pleasant! You should develop a better taste,” the system said to Su Ping.

Again, with the peeking!

Su Ping didn't argue with the system since he was in a great mood. “Show me your shop.”

He wanted to upgrade the store. For one thing, he had wanted to increase the store's territory; for another, he hoped he could get some rare tools from a level 4 shop.

He would be able to easily capture Fate State beasts if he could get a hold of special grade beast-catching rings! A virtual shop popped out in front of Su Ping's eyes.

He was the only one who could see the virtual image; he didn't know if he was seeing it in front of his eyes or with his mind's eye.

Anyway. He saw three items. The first was a dark purple crystal, the Purple Dragon Crystal!

It was a perfect item for dragons, which would bolster their blood. There would be a greater chance for them to learn the Purple-blood Dragon's skills. Purple-blood Dragons… They had the potential to reach the Star Rank!

Price: 12 million energy points.

Su Ping ticked his tongue upon seeing the price. One Dragon Crystal was equal to four Void State battle pets!

Too expensive!

Su Ping looked at the second item; his eyes glowed.

Special-grade beast-catching ring:

The probability of catching Ocean State beasts was 100%! The probability of catching Void State beasts was 100%!

The probability of catching Fate State beasts was 80%!

The probability of catching Star Rank beasts was 10%!

A 10% chance of catching a Star Rank creature!

The probability of catching Fate State beasts was 80%! He could catch one if his luck wasn't too bad!

Su Ping was happy. He looked at the price… Eight million energy points! This greedy system! He immediately bought one, regardless of being unhappy about the staggering prices. Using the special beast-catching ring on Fate State beasts would be wasteful. The artifact's true value was the chance to capture a Star Rank beast.

“Hmm!” the system snorted arrogantly.

Su Ping curled his lips. He could not nurture the system's pride; otherwise, it would keep increasing the prices.

“That'll work,” the system said.

What? Were you listening again?

Su Ping then checked the third item.

Thunder Ocean Fruit:

It grows at the bottom of a thunder ocean located in the Realm of Thunder. The fruit uses thunder energy as nourishment and naturally contains rules of thunder. Any creature that takes this fruit has a probability to learn a certain rule of thunder!

Su Ping could hardly believe that. This fruit would allow someone to learn a rule?

Well, it did say “a probability” and that was a vague statement, but the chance was there!

It was a valuable item!

Even Star Rank beings would fight for it!

After all, if more rules were mastered, more power could be wielded!

Su Ping looked at the price, then felt as though he had been doused with cold water.

The price: 86 million energy points.

That… was close to what he had spent on upgrading the store!

He had less than seventy million energy points remaining; it was beyond his means… The shop will refresh in one week. I have to make enough money within the week. If I miss it this time, I will miss it forever. Only three items will come up with each refresh. That is too few. Though I have to admit that those items are quite good… Su Ping complained inside.

“Hmm.” The system added his opinion on the matter.

Su Ping looked at the first item. The Purple-blood Dragon Crystal was expensive, but it was useful for his Inferno Dragon.

He made up his mind and bought it; he had less than fifty million energy points left.

The good thing was that he still had a week to make some extra money. He closed the shop and summoned the Inferno Dragon. He then took out the crystal from his storage s.p.a.ce. Su Ping found it quite unusual; it was quite warm to the touch. Even he felt that he was about to learn something.

“Purple-blood Dragon Crystal?” Joanna cried out in surprise. She could not believe that Su Ping would ever get a hold of such a rare item.

“You know this?” Su Ping asked while he threw the crystal to the Inferno Dragon.

Joanna curled her lips after seeing him toss the crystal so casually. She explained, “The Purple-blood Dragon Crystal is formed with the blood and energy of a Purple-blood Dragon upon death. It can only be preserved in special conditions… If an average dragon were to take this, its bloodline would improve, even inheriting part of the Purple-blood Dragon's bloodline. The dragon could even reach the Star Rank because of this!”

Su Ping nodded; he admired Joanna's resourcefulness.

Roar!

The Inferno Dragon bellowed after having eaten the crystal; its scales were glistening with a purple glow. Bolts of lightning came cras.h.i.+ng down near the Inferno Dragon.

There were red flames amid the bolts of lightning The Inferno Dragon's bones were cracking; it was changing drastically.

Su Ping noticed that the Inferno Dragon was growing, breaking through from the intermediate position of the ninth rank to the peak of the ninth rank. One more step and the dragon would become a beast king!

The dragon stopped growing; however, its energy was much denser than before. Su Ping even had a feeling that he was standing in front of a Fate State dragon. The effect of the Purple-blood Dragon Crystal was even more beneficial than he would have imagined.

He looked at the pet; its combat strength had grown to 38 from 26!

The Inferno Dragon was second only to the Little Skeleton! Still, its combat strength was still below the Fate State. According to the system, the combat strength of the Fate State was from 50 to 100!

Even so, the growth in combat strength was astonis.h.i.+ng, and the crystal had yet to be fully digested. There was still room for growth.

The 12 million energy points had been well spent. Su Ping was quite happy; he went to the pet room, which was three times larger than before! He saw a mark that said “Upgrade” on the nursing pens.

He currently had middle-level nursing pens; a hundred thousand energy points were required to upgrade them to the advanced level!

Su Ping curled his lips; he had spent too much on the upgrade.

Still, he would have to upgrade the nursing pens sooner or later. Upon further thought, he decided to upgrade five of the nursing pens.

Minus fifty thousand energy points.

Su Ping told the Inferno Dragon to enter one of the nursing pens.

The animal teeth around the new nursing pens had changed. Some peculiar grains were found on the teeth.

Those new nursing pens had a 1% chance of inspiring a pet's talent!

That was the benefit of the upgrade. The probability was just 1% but it was good enough. Sooner or later, pets would attain new talents if they stayed there long enough. “Look at that formation…” Joanna stared at the change on the animal teeth. Much to her surprise, she was unable to recognize the array; she knew it was indeed a formation, but it may well be a long-lost one.