Astral Pet Store

Seeing two of their strongest clan members dead cold on the floor, none of the other guards could think rationally. They only told their pets to randomly attack the Inferno Dragon to no avail.

Of course they would want to run for their lives. However, as Tang Ruyan’s sworn guardians, they knew for a fact that desertion would only earn them a fate worse than death.

Those eighth-rank guards combined with several ninth-rank pets was a considerable force in the Tang Family. And yet, their effort was pointless to Little Skeleton, who swiftly diminished their numbers.

In a matter of minutes, the battlefield quieted down as all the guards lay still. Only the Inferno Dragon, the Dark Dragon Hound and the Hell Marauder were still wrestling.

The Hell Marauder was an apex ninth-rank Astral Pet just like the “Flame Blood Dragon Boss.” Furthermore, its lance seemed to be a mystical weapon of great value as well. Even with many barriers, the Inferno Dragon still suffered a few wounds under the lance’s assault.

Thankfully, the Inferno Dragon had great self-regeneration properties as a dragon-type pet, so it had yet to back down.

The Hell Marauder didn’t run away after losing its master. Instead, its primal killer instinct kicked in as it made up its mind to eliminate every living creature in sight.

Little Skeleton approached a dead ninth-rank pet it had just killed and channeled some dark energy into the corpse. The corpse twitched and climbed up, before it recklessly charged at the Hell Marauder without holding anything back.

Little Skeleton teleported between several corpses and resurrected them to join the battle.

Those enslaved bodies could not do much damage to the Hell Marauder, but slowing it down was enough, since the Inferno Dragon and the Dark Dragon Hound indeed needed a breather right then.

Together with its new “teammates,” Little Skeleton also joined the fray, giving the Hell Marauder more pressure.

Seeing the futility of it, the Hell Marauder bellowed in frustration; it knocked the Dark Dragon Hound aside and dashed into the woods to escape.

Su Ping didn’t ask his pets to give chase since catching an apex ninth-rank pet on the run wouldn’t be so easy. Besides, he needed his pets to protect him when the Quietus Wraith had yet to show up.

The ground quaked as soon as the battle settled down. The Wyrm Worm emerged from the ground while howling in pain. There was a large slit wound along its belly, from where the Fallen Angel had just emerged. It appeared that the Wyrm Worm had also lost its mind when Senior Feng was no more. It tried to digest Tang Ruyan instead of protecting her.

Before it could even start, the Fallen Angel used its sword to tear a hole through its body to get Tang Ruyan out.

The worm tumbled on the ground for a few seconds and also disappeared under the surface, never to show up again.

Under the protection of her pet, Tang Ruyan landed on the ground and breathed in the fresh air she needed after spending so much time inside the worm. But she choked upon seeing all the dead bodies scattered around her.

Her loyal guards, all lying still in pools of their own blood.

They… they’re all dead? A terrible thought crossed her mind as she quickly looked around the area, but without finding Senior Feng or any of his pets. He escaped? That can’t be…

Senior Feng had been a respected and loyal member of her family for decades. She didn’t think he’d abandon her.

She searched again and managed to see the familiar form of Senior Feng close by, but it was only a headless corpse.

She felt cold from head to toe all of sudden. While waiting inside the worm, she assumed several bad outcomes. And yet she had never seen this coming.

The terrible pressure exerted by the Inferno Dragon suddenly came upon her. She looked up and saw the wounded dragon gazing at her with unrelenting malevolence.

Further ahead, she saw the Dark Dragon Hound, the Purple Python, and most importantly, Su Ping, who looked completely unharmed.

But… how come?? Tang Ruyan couldn’t believe the reality around her anymore. Our two titled warriors together didn’t leave a scratch on him? Oh dear… Senior Feng is an upper ninth-rank veteran. He has three overpowered pets under his command. They lost against… a boy?

“It’s your turn,” Su Ping called out to her with a casual look.

Tang Ruyan felt all of her hair stand on end upon hearing those merciless words. Just a few moments before, she had regarded Su Ping as an insignificant worm she could freely step on. Everything had turned to be the opposite.

She took a deep breath.

“Who are you, and why do you hate us so much?”

Tang Ruyan no longer trusted her eyes. She had believed that the young man over there was some kind of ancient monster who was using a human body.

Su Ping maintained his usual, carefree look. “As you see, I’m just a random guy. And no, I don’t have anything against you. I want something, so I take it by force when necessary. Just like what you were doing to the other group a while ago.”

Tang Ruyan clenched her teeth. “Will you let me go if I promise not to get back at you for this? I can even offer compensation.”

“No.” Su Ping’s answer was quick.

Tang Ruyan made a quick and desperate decision. She sobbed while unbuttoning her clothes, allowing Su Ping to look at her smooth skin.

“Please, I’ll agree to anything if you let me live. Anything…”

No one would believe it that the young mistress of the famous Tang Family who would resolve to allure her enemy.

But she didn’t have another choice at the moment.

Su Ping almost sneered at that. “Nice clothes. But I don’t need them.”

Tang Ruyan stopped her actions and gave Su Ping a look of disbelief.

I’m talking about MY BODY you slowpoke! “Ack, um, but are—aren’t you interested in taking me with you??” she spoke while acting like a “damsel in distress.” She decided to make it plain to successfully get through a “slow guy” like Su Ping.

“Oh yes, of course I’m interested.” Su Ping nodded with a smile.

“Wonderful! I’ll do anything and everything you ask, as long as—” “Dismiss your pet first.”

Tang Ruyan stopped moving. Her Fallen Angel was her last means of protection. Something told her that her pet was no match against Su Ping after seeing that Senior Feng had been so easily murdered. But she didn’t want to give up completely yet, because she thought of the likelihood Su Ping ended exhausted after the fight. She might just have a chance to get away.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Su Ping urged.

Tang Ruyan smiled. She had never been someone who would readily submit.

“Sure.”

She opened her pet space and pretended that she was going to follow Su Ping’s words. But instead of going inside the pet space, the Fallen Angel lunged at Su Ping.

Meanwhile, another two pets emerged from her pet space, including a Gale Wolf she usually used for faster traveling.

Su Ping simply told Little Skeleton to engage the enemy, for he was well prepared for such a situation.

From his many deaths, he had learned that a battle was not won until the heart of his enemy stopped beating. The cost of being careless was dear, and he wasn’t going to repeat that mistake.

Tang Ruyan might be smart, but she was far from the level of cunning seen on monsters he had encountered before.

Like a flash of lightning, Little Skeleton reappeared in the Fallen Angel’s path and slashed using its blade.

The Fallen Angel reacted in time by raising its sword, from where a disruptive energy wave rose to disorient Little Skeleton’s spirit.

It was completely ineffective since Little Skeleton had already strengthened its spirit resistance to an unbelievable extent by absorbing the power of a skeleton king.

Two blades clashed, resulting in the Fallen Angel’s trusted sword to crack.

The Fallen Angel checked its damaged sword in surprise, then it saw Little Skeleton’s towering shadow and pulled out its other weapon, which was a metal chain capable of restraining the biggest of foes.

Little Skeleton flashed away to evade the attack. But no matter how it moved, the chain would always follow it.

Since running was pointless, Little Skeleton chose to allow the chain to catch it instead. Its body shattered to pieces under the pressure as if the chain had squeezed it up.

However, the broken bone pieces gathered and reassembled before they reached the ground.

With both weapons unavailable, the Fallen Angel took a direct hit this time.

Meanwhile, the Inferno Dragon and the Dark Dragon Hound went for Tang Ruyan while fully displaying their mighty aura to suppress her.

Tang Ruyan’s pets had gone through specific training back in her family grounds, aimed at raising their mental resistance. Though this was pointless when Su Ping’s pets could use the same level of repressive will as the ancient dragon king.

Within seconds, Tang Ruyan’s pets had been either killed or badly wounded. Also, Su Ping made sure to break the Gale Wolf’s legs so she wasn’t able to get away.

All of Tang Ruyan’s augmentation skills and healing arts were useless.

She felt true despair after seeing that all of her pets had been subdued or overwhelmed by Little Skeleton. She had always had the belief of having made great achievements at quite the young age, which meant she had more than enough time to aim for higher levels in her family. But the cruel truth had taken her dream away. She was going to die young.

Su Ping took a moment admiring the woman’s sad look and took out the “storage scroll.”

Upon receiving his astral power, the scroll became alive and released an irresistible pulling force that dragged Tang Ruyan away.

Losing their connection, her pet instantly fell into dismay. Soon enough, Little Skeleton knocked the Fallen Angel senseless and put an end to the fight.

Su Ping used his astral perception to peer inside the scroll; he saw Tang Ruyan looking around the empty area in panic.

“Where am I?? Is this your prison? Why don’t you kill me?” she said when she sensed Su Ping monitoring her.

“Not yet. We’ll find time later so you can tell me about your clan.”

Without waiting for Tang Ruyan’s further response, Su Ping pulled his attention away.

He had become an enemy of the Tang Family, which meant they’d have more unpleasant encounters in the future. He needed to learn about them to better deal with them, while Tang Ruyan was a perfect tool for that purpose.