Astral Pet Store

Chapter 493 Resurgence

All the wild beasts came to a brief stop; they noticed the intimidating beast king arriving.

The beast king grappling with the Fierce Fire Ape was alerted by that roar; it turned around to look, no longer concerned about the Fierce Fire Ape.

“Beast King!”

Su Ping also noticed the beast king as he stood on top of the Swamp War Crocodile’s head. He became livid with rage when he saw that the beast king was hunting the Fierce Fire Ape he had just sold. To the death!! Behind him, three swirls appeared!

Roar!!

The Inferno Dragon was the first to come out. It landed and flames were swept across the area!

The dragon had sensed Su Ping’s anger. With red eyes, the Inferno Dragon threw itself into the crowd of beasts. It clawed left and right, burning all the beasts with its powerful flames. In the meantime, the Dark Dragon Hound and the Purple Python had come out as well. They roared and dashed toward the wild beasts. They were like wolves charging into a flock of sheep! Su Ping rode the Swamp War Crocodile toward the beast king! That beast king had also sensed the ferocity from the Swamp War Crocodile. The beast king tried to roar at the Swamp War Crocodile but the latter was not intimidated at all. If anything, the Swamp War Crocodile was enraged even further. The Swamp War Crocodile pounded the ground and many sharp stone spikes that were over a hundred meters tall grew out from the ground. It was as if the earth were showing its fangs! The beast king bellowed and smashed the ground. One section of the ground was lifted! The wall came crashing down onto the huge spikes. Both the wall and the spikes instantly fell into pieces. The broken boulders rolled around, inflicting great harm on the flock of beasts.

A battle between beast kings could shake the world!

Roar!!

The Swamp War Crocodile felt its dignity had been challenged. Blood rushed to its eyes. The Swamp War Crocodile sped up. The ground was shaking due to the fast speed; many deep pits appeared as the Swamp War Crocodile moved around.

The crocodile reached the strange beast king in an instant.

Beast king against beast king!

That beast king’s bizarre, large and fierce-looking mouth opened wide. Its imbs extended toward the Swamp War Crocodile. At the same time, the beast king was directing several of its limbs to smash the Swamp War Crocodile’s eyes.

And yet, as if in a frenzy, the Swamp War Crocodile paid no heed and threw itself onto the beast king Bang!!

The beast king rolled away. While the rare beast king tried to tear up the Swamp War Crocodile with its claws, it was completely unhurt given its hard skin. There were merely some light marks left on its skin.

“Let’s go!”

The moment that the beast kings bumped into each other, Su Ping carried Qin Shuhai in one hand and flew up.

The two beast kings were in a round of close-quarter combat while Su Ping soared in the air. The Swamp War Crocodile reacted quickly. It bit at the other beast king’s head; its sharp teeth tore off pieces of the beast king’s skin and scales. Blood was gushing out. Crocodile Tangle! Pff!

The massive crocodile rolled around with quick speed and agility, then twisted its neck and managed to tear off half of that beast king’s head!

“Roar!!!”

That beast king’s cry of misery was spread across the flock of wild beasts!

The Swamp War Crocodile didn’t stop. It turned around and waved its thick tail.

Tail Hammer!

Bang! That thick tail lashed the beast king, making it roll back due to the strong impact! The beast king lost a lot of blood on the way because of the head injury, tainting the ground red!

Roar!! The Swamp War Crocodile growled! The energy was surging and the ground was breaking. Many sharp stone spikes grew out. With some muffled noises, the stone spikes penetrated the beast king which exhaled its final breath!

Blood tainted the stone spikes. The cry of misery ended. The beast king died! Hurray! The Swamp War Crocodile raised its snout to cry to the skies, announcing its victory! All the people standing on the outer wall of the base city were dumbfounded by that battle.

The battle ended quickly. That beast king, which had been a mortal threat for them, was killed by Su Ping’s ride! His beast won by a landslide! The view of the beast king being pierced through and lifted off from the ground by the spikes shocked all the people defending the wall.

That had been a powerful and barbaric battle. Finally, they saw what it meant to have invincible power! Xie Jinshui and Qin Duhuang still had a hard time believing this. Both were beast kings but they had been worlds apart! Terrifying! No one was able to utter a sound as they stared at the huge crocodile that was outside, with no beast daring to get closer. “Clean this up!” Standing in the air, Su Ping gave an order to the Swamp War Crocodile who was still making a show of authority. The Swamp War Crocodile darted a glare at Su Ping, unhappy that he had stopped its fun. It shook its head, then turned around and glanced at the bunch of beasts around him.

The wild beasts immediately fled after feeling the beast king’s overpowering energy! Bang! Bang! Bang! The Swamp War Crocodile charged and stomped many advanced beasts to death in a flash!

The Swamp War Crocodile and the Inferno Dragon were left to have their fun with the remaining wild beasts. Su Ping flew to the outer wall; he noticed Xie Jinshui, Qin Duhuang and the other familiar faces. After all, they were all titled battle pet warriors and they would always stand out in a crowd. “The beasts didn’t invade the city, did they?” Su Ping asked as soon as he landed on the wall. “Mr. Su, you came back at a perfect time!” Xie Jinshui said with excitement. That was the benefit of having a legendary-level force in the base city. They could have waited for reinforcements, but distant water cannot quench the present thirst!

The Longjiang Base City would have been breached before reinforcements arrived, and his career as mayor would have reached its end!

Qin Duhuang-who was usually not good at showing his mood-was barely able to hide his joy this time. If Su Ping had not returned in time, his Fierce Fire Ape would have been in fatal danger! Any other pets of the ninth-rank would have been killed before putting up a fight! “Mr. Su, on behalf of my pet, thank you!” Qin Duhuang said, sincerely. He was truly grateful. He would never forget this. “Mr. Su,” Zhou Tianlin said. He no longer felt any hatred as he looked at the young man who had once invaded the Zhou family alone. Rather, he was quite thrilled to see him. Su Ping nodded to him. “This is where most beats were gathered. As long as we can keep it safe here, the other three sides can manage on their own. Mr. Su, if you had not come back, Longjiang would have been in serious trouble. None of us could have stopped that beast king.” Xie Jinshui wanted to shake Su Ping’s hand, but was a little bit afraid of doing so at the same time. He just rubbed his hands together. He looked nothing like a mayor at the moment. “Good.”

Su Ping was relieved. As long as the beasts had not gotten inside the base city. He had returned in a hurry for a reason. His mother was protected by the system but there many other people he was familiar with in the Longjiang Base City, mainly his customers. Some repeated customers would go to his store often and he would chat with them. They were more than mere acquaintances at this point. Even though they weren’t bosom friends, he could not bear to think that they would die in a beast strike. “There’s nothing to be afraid of now that Mr. Su is here!” Zhou Tianlin smiled. The dark cloud over their heads had finally cleared. He just spoke his mind.

Qin Duhuang nodded in agreement. He had felt a sense of frustration that he had not felt for years when the Fierce Fire Ape had almost been killed.

Su Ping smiled and turned around. Giving one look at the remaining beasts, Su Ping said, “We can catch up later. Since the beast king is dead, what do you say we clear away all the beasts?”

“Let’s do it!” Qin Duhuang said at once. “Yes!”

Zhou Tianlin nodded.

Without the beast king, they no longer had to hold back; they could join in the battle themselves! “Kill them!”

Su Ping flew into the group of beasts at once.

“I’m right behind you!” Qin Duhuang laughed. In a daze, he felt he had become young again. He summoned his other battle pets and flew toward the wild beasts.

“Coming!”

Zhou Tianlin followed Qin Duhuang and charged into the crowd of beasts as well. Xie Jinshui smiled. He felt that a heavy burden had been lifted off from his mind, the moment he saw Su Ping arriving and killing that beast king with his ride. But he didn’t join the fight in person. He summoned two of his battle pets while he called people on the other side of the walls, telling them to drive away all the beasts! With Su Ping and his battle pets’ help, the beast hordes soon collapsed. The tables had turned.

Half an hour later, all the beasts on the east side had been driven away, leaving behind many corpses and blood that the ground couldn’t absorb for quite some time!

After less than 10 minutes, news arrived from the west side. They had also succeeded in driving beasts away!

Soon after, good news came from the north and south sides.

When everyone heard that Su Ping had returned and the beast king was eliminated, people that were guarding the other sides of the base city entered the fray and fought to their hearts’ content. The beasts were soon in disarray.

After the battle, Xie Jinshui said to Su Ping as he was leaving, “Mr. Su, you have saved Longjiang. You are our hero. We’ll be having a celebration banquet tonight and you have to be there. The media will be there as well!”

Su Ping shook his head. “I’m not a hero. I’m just doing what I can do. I have to cultivate so I won’t go to the banquet. You, as well as the generals and the warriors, are the real heroes!” Xie Jinshui felt disappointed. Qin Duhuang tried to persuade Su Ping, “Mr. Su, you can relax for one night. It’ll be a bummer if you’re not there.” “Right,” Zhou Tianlin jumped in, “Mr. Su, you have a store to run, right? I know that things are good and you have more than enough customers every day, but you can never be too popular. You will have even more customers in the future if people learned about your contributions!”

Fair point. Su Ping raised his eyebrows. “Fine.” Su Ping finally conceded. The others smiled. Su Ping bid farewell to them. He asked the Inferno Dragon and the other two pets to return and rode the Swamp War Crocodile back to his store.

Once again, he felt the Slave Contract had its shortcomings. The Swamp War Crocodile would be too big to be left outside the store because it would block the entire street. After they entered the territory of the shantytown area, Su Ping told the Swamp War Crocodile to climb a hill along an isolated path and stay there for the moment. The hill was just a few blocks away from his store. That was the good thing about the shantytown area: out-of-the-way and spacious. The beast king would have smashed down many buildings if he were in the uptown area.

Su Ping reminded the Swamp War Crocodile not to hurt anyone without his orders and then headed back to the store.

Of course, no one would approach the Swamp War Crocodile for no reason, so Su Ping was not worried.

He flew back to his street. There weren’t many people outside. But Su Ping was not surprised. The door was open. Tang Ruyan and Zhong Lingtong were sitting in the lounge, chatting away. Su Ping remembered he had met Tang RuyuTang Ruyan’s younger sister-at the stadium. He remembered what she had said. “Kill her if she is too much of a trouble for you.”

Su Ping stepped in. The two girls were surprised since nobody had gone to the store; they were glad to see Su Ping arrive.

Su Ping noticed how glad Tang Ruyan was. He smiled a faint smile her way.

“Sir!”

Like a cute bunny, Zhong Lingtong bounced over.

Su Ping rubbed her head. “Did you argue with your Sister Tang?”

Zhong Lingtong shook her head. “Of course not. She’s very nice.”

Tang Ruyan glared at Su Ping. “Do I look like someone eager to argue?” “You’re arguing with me now.” “You—hmph!” Tang Ruyan was foaming at the mouth. Not even Buddha can keep calm after talking to this guy!

“Have you heard about the beast strike?” Su Ping asked

Tang Ruyan was surprised since Su Ping didn’t ask about revenue first. “Of course. The entire Longjiang Base City is on alert. Even a three-year-old would know. Many kindergartens have suspended school, and a lot of elders and kids are staying at shelters.”

Su Ping was amazed by Xie Jinshui’s fast reaction. He even had made sheltering arrangements. “Didn’t you just come back? How is it? I heard there’s a beast king!” Tang Ruyan felt worried when thinking about this. Of course, a beast king was nothing for this guy. “Taken care of. They’re having a celebration dinner tonight. Come with me,” Su Ping said.

Tang Ruyan was speechless.

Just as she had thought… This guy was the real monster. “Taken care of? Sir, was it you who took care of the beast king?” curiously, Zhong Lingtong asked. Su Ping had left while riding on a beast king. He wouldn’t have been afraid even if he ran into a beast king on his way back. “In a way. I was working with others,” Su Ping answered. Zhong Lingtong could not help but admire her teacher. The wild beasts were invading and the entire Longjiang Base City descended into a state of panic. But the beast strike was stopped as Su Ping returned. It was clear that Su Ping’s contributions would not go unnoticed. “Anyway, I thought you were going to the Supremacy League. How come you’re back so soon? Are you here just to save the city?” Tang Ruyan didn’t think Su Ping could have lost. After all, few people in the world were as freaky as this guy.

“I won the championship. Why? You think I should have stayed there for New Year?” Su Ping answered with another question.

Tang Ruyan was stunned still.

“Championship?” She glared at him. “Didn’t you just go there to compete?” “Since when is the championship measured with length of time?”

I shall call you Su the Disser from now on!

Couldn’t you talk like a normal person!

Tang Ruyan was hopping mad. Su Ping looked at her. “Stay put in the store. I can give you some special awards if you work well. For example, you’d have the priority if I sell ninth-rank beasts again. Or, I can sell my beast king to you when you become a master battle pet warrior.” Tang Ruyan was stunned still. She opened her eyes wide in disbelief. She wasn’t sure if he was being serious or just joking. Selling the beast king to her… “Are you… making fun of me?” Tang Ruyan asked.

Su Ping answered, “The requirement is that you must do your job well here.”

Tang Ruyan stared at him. She had been staying there for a long time. She could tell that this guy was not joking. “Why…” She lowered her head.

“Employee benefits. Don’t read too much into that.” He patted her head. “Okay, I have to go home and tell mom that I’m back.”

Tang Ruyan watched as he left. She bit her lip and clenched her fingers.

She wasn’t stupid; she was rather smart and perceptive. Su Ping’s offer was sudden. He had gone to the Supremacy League, in which the Tang family would also participate. Su Ping surely met them.

But she couldn’t guess what had happened when they met each other.

She just had a feeling that Su Ping’s kindness had much to do with the Supremacy League. Tang family… Tang Ruyan felt her heart was twitching. There had been a time she felt great pride after uttering or hearing those two words. But then, the two words were like two swords. Every time she heard and thought of them, they would stab her in the heart. The Tang family was one of the ancient families, a big family. However, there was no room for her. Zhong Lingtong was confused, wondering why Tang Ruyan had suddenly become dispirited.

Su Ping went home. He let his mother know about his safe return as well as the fact that the wild beasts had been taken care of. But his mother already knew about it. She had seen on TV, when the Swamp War Crocodile was taking Su Ping back to the city; the government had sent the news to the media, who reported it across the Longjiang Base City!

All the people in the base city were excited.

They were celebrating!

Su Ping felt his joy had been robbed from him. He told his mother about the dinner and asked whether she wanted to go, but she declined. Reason being, she didn’t want to go on TV. Su Ping didn’t expect that she would give away such a good chance to put herself on the spotlight. She would always brag about her son and daughter to the neighbors. But when she finally had a good chance to become famous in Longjiang, she didn’t want to. Su Ping tried to talk her into going but Li Qingru refused. “You and your sister have good prospects. I’m happy enough to look around in the neighborhood. That dinner is a grand event; it would reflect poorly on you and your sister if I went and said something wrong.” Su Ping said nothing for a moment. “You won’t do anything like that. You raised me. Nothing you do will ever reflect poorly on me!” Su Ping looked into her eyes. “No rumor can hurt me. Your son is at the titled rank. Rumors will only hurt the common men, not me!”

Su Ping insisted and eventually, Li Qingru gave in. That night. The dinner was held at the city hall. All the famous media were there, and the family heads of the five families were also present. The generals who had performed exemplary work during the battle were also there, wearing their military uniforms and medals of honor.

The dinner would be live streamed.

“I am Xie Jinshui, your mayor!” Xie Jinshui stood on the podium, looking solemn. “This beast strike was led by a beast king with 57 ninth-rank beasts as the core force, and over two hundred thousand advanced beasts. That was a strike strong enough to topple many base cities, but we did not fall!

“We have successfully driven away all the beasts!

“The beast king was killed on the spot and 34 of the ninth-rank beasts were eliminated. The other wild beasts fled in panic!” The reporters remained silent. At the moment, the citizens-old or young, male or female, who were sitting in front of their TVs-remained silent.

Those words, without any glamor mixed in, had already filled them with apprehension! A beast king! Fifty-seven ninth-rank beasts!

Two hundred thousand advanced beasts!

How intimidating that was!

But they did not fail!

In one day, the catastrophe was averted! The beast king was killed! “Many of our warriors were fighting, bleeding and some heroic souls will never return to us, to their families. They are all our heroes! “It is because of their contribution that we can enjoy peace! “Of all the heroes, there is someone I must thank. He is the one who killed the beast king for us!

“Without him, more of us would have perished, and more would have never seen their families again!

“He is Mr. Su Ping, owner of the Pixie Pet Store!”

Xie Jinshuis impassioned voice echoed everywhere. As planned, the spotlight turned to Su Ping. At the moment, the focus of Longjiang was Su Ping.

He wasn’t nervous.

Xie Jinshui invited him to the podium. “I just did my part. The others helped stalling the beasts. They are the ones who you should thank,” Su Ping said. He finished his brief speech. Xie Jinshui reacted quickly. “Mr. Su, you’re too humble. You returned in time and killed the beast king. That is how we were able to drive the other beasts away. You earned the credit!”

Su Ping said nothing.

The cameras were all on Su Ping. Some people didn’t know Su Ping. Some had learned the name from the store and the Elite League. Basically, most people witnessing this were stunned. Apart from a very few people, not even his customers had been aware that the store owner that they talked to almost every day was able to kill a beast king. Xie Jinshui said more words of gratitude. He thanked Su Ping, as well as the five major families and warriors who had perished in battle.

He also mentioned how he would make it up to the families of the fallen.

The news conference came to an end. The dinner party began. Alcohol and delicacies! Eating and drinking! The city hall, a place always quiet and solemn, became filled with excitement that evening. The family heads went to make toasts in Su Ping’s favor, and they also got acquainted with Tang Ruyan, Zhong Lingtong, and Su Ping’s mother. Su Ping’s mother was the main focus; Qin Duhuang and the other family heads smiled at her warmly. It was hard to befriend Su Ping, but it would be much easier to start with his family.

Su Ping was not worried about his mom showing up in public. After all, the ones that indeed wanted to harm him could find out about his family relationships easily, including his mom and Su Lingyue’s birthdays.

That was a moment of honor. He had to share it with his family.

It was too bad that he had not heard from his father yet. He had to wait for him to return

Those who were attending that gala, apart from the higher-ups and elites of the five families, were the ones who had done exemplary work during the battle and some VIPs.

Because of Xie Jinshui’s speech, everyone remembered the name, Su Ping. At dinner time, someone would always drop by to talk to Su Ping when he was eating; he had to stop now and then to talk.

The dinner continued to the small hours of the night. Suddenly, Xie Jinshui felt his phone ring.

He was surprised that someone would call him at that time. He apologized to the people he was with, set up a sound-proof seal, and answered the call. “Yes?” “Sir, this is not good. Beasts were detected in the C-12 district and we have just heard that beasts are coming in from the spatial cracks in district B-04. The beasts are gathering…” The person sounded in a panic. Xie Jinshui turned pale.

The beasts were still coming?

But the beast king was dead.

He looked up and saw that Su Ping was still eating and drinking. Seeing him immediately relieved Xie Jinshui a bit. “Go and investigate. I want the most accurate and detailed information!”

“Yes, sir!”

Xie Jinshui was no longer in the mood to enjoy dinner. He walked over to where Su Ping was.