Astral Pet Store

“I just earned some name, I’m not renowned.”

Nie Chengkong was modest. “I have heard so much about you, Brother Su. You killed a Magical Corpse Beast at the upper position of the eighth rank at such a young age. You’re not any weaker than I am. I believe in the future, Brother Su will for sure grow to be a titled battle pet warrior!”

“You flatter me. I believe the same thing for you,” Su Ping gave a simple answer because he wasn’t used to the exchange of pleasantries and flattery.

Luo Guxue blushed when she heard Nie Chengkong’s words. She had just returned to the team so she hadn’t had the time to inform the team about the news from the academy. Su Ping was not going to grow to be a titled battle pet warrior. He already had such abilities.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Mr. Su, hi.”

The other two team members, a girl, and a boy, who were sitting on the couch stepped over. Their smiles made them look friendly.

Since Su Ping was young, people would have questions, more or less. However, they all trusted Luo Guxue and Ye Chenshan. Besides, Su Ping had saved Ye Chenshan’s life. For that reason alone, Su Ping deserved a nice treatment.

Su Ping nodded to them.

The two team members introduced themselves. Su Ping learned their names. The boy was Zhou Jing and the girl was Guo Yuelin. Both were advanced battle pet warriors just like Luo Guxue.

“Brother Su, come and have a seat.” Nie Chengkong was quite hospitable. He asked Su Ping to sit down on the couch.

A guest should suit the convenience of the host. After everyone took their seats, Su Ping asked, “Captain Nie, when can you share the map of the Mysterious Realm?” Nie Chengkong answered, “No rush. Two more helpers are coming. We will study the map when everyone is here.”

Su Ping was surprised. This team had invited three helpers. Counting the original team of five, they would be eight people in total.

Su Ping sat there and waited since this was what Nie Chengkong wanted.

“Mr. Su, I heard that you run a pet store. Is that true?” Guo Yuelin was curious.

Su Ping nodded. “If you are interested, you’re welcome to pay a visit. I sell many kinds of pet food in my store, high quality at a reasonable price.”

Ye Chenshan curled his lips slightly but said nothing.

“We will when time permits.” Zhou Jing smiled.

They chatted for a little while when they heard someone arriving. A young man came in first and shouted, “Captain, Mr. Mo, and Mr. Chen are here.”

“They are the outside help we were waiting for,” Ye Chenshan said to Su Ping when noticing the latter’s confusion.

Everyone looked over the young man’s shoulder. Two people stepped in. One of them was skinny with a handlebar mustache, like a teacher. The other man was bulky, almost two meters tall, and appeared to be quite doughty.

Nie Chengkong stood up to greet them at once. “Mr. Mo, Mr. Chen.” “Captain Nie, how are you doing?” The bulky man laughed.

The skinny old man smiled as a reply.

The other team members stood up to say hello. They were all quite polite to the two outside help. They were there to assist and they were both well-known masters. It was natural that the team members would be respectful to the two.

Su Ping got up to say hello as well.

After the small talk was done, Nie Chengkong waved his hand and asked that young man to close the door. Nie Chengkong told everyone to sit down and then had the desk cleaned by the servant.

“Since everyone is here, let’s talk about the Mysterious Realm.”

When the desk was cleaned, Nie Chengkong took out an aged, yellowish map from his chest pocket. The map looked like a parchment scroll but it was quite large.

Nie Chengkong unfolded the map on the table and said, “This is the treasure map for parcel 92. I bought the map from a secret channel on the black market. I heard that some grave robbers took it from an ancient tomb. I hired some archaeologists to translate the words on the map and noticed that this was related to the Longtai Mountain. After my secret research and investigation, I finally concluded that this is a map of parcel 92.”

As he explained, everyone was casting their looks over the map. Maybe due to the weathering of time, some lines had become blurred. Still, they could make out the shapes of some rivers and mountains.

There were some strange marks at certain locations in the mountains and rivers.

“I heard from the archaeologists that this mark meant danger in the old days; this one is a treasure, this one is a restricted area and this one stands for an open path…” Nie Chengkong explained one by one.

Everyone was observing closely, attempting to memorize the map.

“There are so many marks for treasures.” Zhou Jing was surprised to see several of those marks.

Their team had obtained a map before but it was only a fragment without illustrations. However, this one was very detailed, marking out the dangers, open paths, and treasures. Following the map, they could practically go there and grab the treasures, right?

The old man Mo and the strong man Chen stared at Nie Chengkong, stunned. This map was so specific. If so, why would he invite them?

Nie Chengkong must have noticed the other people’s doubts. He smiled and said, “Take a look. The marks here are larger. In the old times, the large marks indicated larger treasures. However, around this area, those places are all dangerous. Based on our experience, there must be beasts guarding the places with precious treasures.

“I invited you because I hope you can help us to obtain those treasures.”

Old man Mo and strong man Chen both understood. Nie Chengkong was trying to grab all the treasures.

“Besides,” Nie Chengkong continued, “While the map is detailed, a long time has passed. Beasts are living animals. They move around. Therefore, we cannot trust this map entirely. Nobody can tell for sure how those dangerous places have shifted after so many years. Maybe, some dangerous places have vanished and some paths that were originally clear have become risky.

“So, this map is only for reference. We cannot rely on it completely. When we get there, we must be extra vigilant and take care of each other. I hope that we can all get out safely!”

Everyone nodded. They thought of those possibilities as well.

Old man Mo smiled. “Captain Nie, since you were so thorough, I do not disagree.”

That strong man Chen smiled from ear to ear. “By then, when we obtain the major treasure, remember that I will be the third person in line that gets to pick from the other treasures.”

Old man Mo was surprised. He looked at Chen and then at Nie Chengkong. “Captain Nie, you told me that I would be the second in line to pick treasures. Who is going to be the first?”

Mo had thought that Chen would be the first one to pick. Chen was at the same rank as Mo and at his prime. While Mo didn’t think he was any worse than Chen, he could accept the fact that Chen could choose before him.

Mo didn’t expect that the first one to choose the treasures was someone else. Was that someone on Nie Chengkong’s team?

The strong man Chen was taken aback as well. He had thought Mo would be the first one to pick. He didn’t foresee that there would be someone else.

Nie Chengkong smiled. “The first one to pick is this Brother Su, Su Ping here. He saved Chenshan and Guxue’s lives and is quite powerful himself. Hence, we promised that he would be the first one to pick.”

Mo and Chen both looked at Su Ping. Both were stunned.

They had noticed Su Ping before because he was the youngest of them all, a little bit too young in fact. He was like an undergraduate student. Mo had thought that Su Ping was a potential candidate for Team Polaris. How could he be an outside helper as well?

Besides, he was deemed more important.

Old man Mo and strong man Chen were not happy about this. Chen frowned and said to Nie Chengkong, “Captain Nie, is this dude an advanced battle pet warrior?”

old man Mo looked at Nie Chengkong as well. If Su Ping was not an advanced battle pet warrior, then it would be too much to consider Su Ping as more important than they were.

Nie Chengkong nodded. “Brother Su has an ability similar to a master battle pet warrior. He once killed a Magical Corpse Beast at the upper position of the eighth rank. He is no weaker than I am. He once saved Chenshan and Guxue’s life. I hope you can understand.”

Both Mo and Chen were startled. Su Ping had an ability similar to a master battle pet warrior? He once killed a Magical Corpse Beast at the upper position of the eighth rank?

The two of them were master battle pet warriors but they were much older than Su Ping. They could kill Magical Corpse Beasts at the upper position of the eighth rank as well, but it was astonishing that Su Ping could do that too.

The two of them looked at each other. They did not voice any doubts or vent their anger, either.

They were well-aware that exploring a Mysterious Realm was a matter of life or death for the entire team. Nie Chengkong would not tell lies or drag any rookie into the team in such conditions. After all, even if Nie Chengkong didn’t care about the treasures, he would have to worry about his life.

A weak teammate could make the entire team perish.

Since Nie Chengkong the senior explorer had said so, then the story about Su Ping had to be true.

Mo and Chen gave Su Ping a meaningful look. Apart from the young man’s strength, the two of them were more interested in the background of this talented youth.

A poor person was unlikely to have such outstanding abilities. No matter how talented one might be, one’s development had to be based on massive financial support. To become a battle pet warrior was the most costly career path.

“Since he once saved Chenshan and Guxue’s lives, then I have no more questions,” the strong man Chen mentioned. He looked rough but he was attentive. His kind gesture would benefit him in the future.

The old man Mo nodded but said nothing else. Inside, he was a bit displeased. The two of them were famous eighth-rank battle pet warriors. They might be slightly weaker than Nie Chengshan who had been exploring the uncultivated lands. That being said, the two of them were master warriors nonetheless. Su Ping was talented and had strong connections. However, exploring the Mysterious Realm relied on strength. Who would care about backgrounds?

While unhappy, Mo didn’t show any emotions. He had been living for too long a time to let people see his feelings.

“Alright. It is getting late. Let’s get ready so we can head to the Mysterious Realm. We can save the rest of the discussion for the rest of the trip,” Nie Chengkong said and stored away the map.