Su Ping didn’t say anything as he was incapable of retaliating against Star Lords yet; it was also pointless for him to yell at the guy. Never reveal your real intention to your opponent.
Su Ping left with the instructor after putting the Inferno Dragon away.
Everybody on the hill looked at Su Ping with utmost shock when Su Ping returned.
“Twenty laws!”
“Did my eyes deceive me? Isn’t that already the limit of the Star State?”
“That dragon didn’t use its full strength just now…”
“What the heck? Even pets know how to trick people now?”
Everybody had seen how the Inferno Dragon reacted to the Star Lord’s attack moments earlier; it was surreal to them. The dragon was even more of a genius than all of them were since it had mastered twenty laws!
“That dragon probably has SS aptitudes!”
“SS? Why do I feel like it should be SSS? It should be one of the best geniuses, provided that it really is in the Fate State…”
“F*ck. To think that we can’t even compare to his pet!”
“I should be at the foot of the hill, not here…”
“He’s just counting on his pet. That’s not an achievement; he’s just a weakling without the dragon.”
“A weakling? Didn’t you see how he raced to the seats on the hilltop? He might not be as good as his pet, but he’s definitely not a weakling!”
Su Ping and the Inferno Dragon raised a round of discussions; many were unable to mask envy and jealousy. They felt they could have competed with those on the hilltop if they had such a pet!
Still on the island—Dragon Devil clenched his fists with an awful expression.
“It’s already a fact that you’ve lost, consider it a lesson. You’ll encounter more geniuses at the upcoming Universe Geniuses’ Contest. Work harder in your training,” said the Star Lord instructor with a stern tone.
Dragon Devil clenched his teeth as he coped with the humiliation.
He knew there would be countless geniuses at the Universe Geniuses’ Contest, especially those in the star zone and the finals, but he didn’t expect to run into a bad a** that quickly.
Besides, such a way to lose was too humiliating; the guy had crushed him with only one battle pet!
“If your performance is good, the president will ask an extraordinary trainer to help you and Dragon Emperor train your pets. All you need to do is strengthen yourself,” the instructor continued.
Dragon Devil was stunned to hear “extraordinary trainer.” He quickly asked, “Really?”
“Yes, but only on the condition that you deliver a satisfactory performance.”
The instructor nodded; he had to give the student something good to look forward to. He wasn’t just making it up; if the student distinguished himself in the Illusionary God Monument Mysterious Realm, the president would indeed offer help. After all, his academy would become famous if they landed a high ranking at the Universe Geniuses’ Contest!
“Got it.” Dragon Devil took a deep breath and calmed down, but he clenched his fists even harder; he engraved this day’s humiliation in his heart.
On the other side—Su Ping had returned to his seat on the hilltop.
Several others who had yet to grab a seat looked at him but showed no intention of challenging him.
Su Ping had only used his pet in the previous battle; nobody was sure whether the pet was Su Ping’s ultimate trump card or not.
Besides, the twenty laws the pet had unleashed against the Star Lord instructor had already made them uncertain of defeating it.
“Is your pet really in the Fate State?”
On Su Ping’s left—the Thousand Leaves Holy Lady changed her opinion about Su Ping. Considering his pet’s dominating strength, the man was probably too lazy to attack; he hadn’t been at all scared.
She was the same. Although Dragon Devil had been rude, she didn’t do anything to him because she thought it would taint her hand, not because she was scared of him.
“Yes.”
Su Ping nodded, not intending to keep it a secret. Normal people wouldn’t reveal their pet’s level, but he didn’t think it was a big deal; it was not his biggest trump card anyway.
“…”
The Thousand Leaves Holy Lady was silent for a moment. Although she had indeed sensed it, she was still shocked when Su Ping confirmed the fact.
She didn’t think that Su Ping was lying; after all, such geniuses would either keep their mouths shut or mock whomever asked the question. They were too proud to lie.
On Su Ping’s right side, the woman wearing a long white robe also heard the conversation. Her expression changed; she somehow found her seat uncomfortable.
The pet was only in the Fate State… It seemed to be a bigger genius than she was.
She had been training hard for many years, and had been praised as a one-in-a-trillion genius. And yet, a pet had surpassed her?
Once they became silent, Dragon Emperor—who looked as majestic as a real sovereign—stared at Su Ping and asked, “What’s the breed of your pet?”
This drew the attention of a lot of people. People on the other seats looked at Su Ping curiously too.
Its performance would have been more understandable if it was one of the legendary pets they knew of.
“?”
Su Ping asked with a puzzled expression, “Do I know you?”
He didn’t forget the guy’s mockery just then. Besides, wasn’t the guy from the same academy as the person he had just defeated?
So, why bother chatting?
“…”
Dragon Emperor fell silent. He unconsciously clenched his fists, but he didn’t make a move in the end, because it would reveal his anger.
“Heh.” The Dragon Emperor chuckled and didn’t say anything else.
The others were slightly regretful since Su Ping wasn’t saying anything, but none of them were too surprised. After all, nobody was obliged to introduce their pets to other people, since they were their ultimate weapons.
Everybody held their curiosity in check and thought of other things.
The battle between Holy King and Apocalypse had taught them a lesson about the prodigies from other academies, and Su Ping’s made them respect those on the hilltop.
None of the people on the hilltop was a weakling!
“Amir Royal Academy…”
Holy King, who sat on another side, narrowed his eyes and withdrew his gaze from Su Ping. Although reluctant to admit it, he felt lucky he had chosen Apocalypse instead of Su Ping.
He had indeed considered picking Su Ping as an opponent. However, considering the latter’s speed and vague dangerous aura, he keenly realized that the man was stronger than Apocalypse, so he chose her in the end.
What happened later proved that his instincts were correct.
That man was truly a monster. Even his pet was terrifying!
Dragon Devil returned from the island. He looked at Su Ping but chose to remain silent. This time, he approached the white-robed woman on the latter’s right side.
“I’ll have your seat!”
He repeated what he said earlier, but not as arrogantly as before; he was especially grim.
The white-robed woman raised her eyebrows in surprise and stared at him, before she giggled. “I admire your courage.”
After saying that, she rose and flew towards the island.
Dragon Devil snorted and swallowed a pill; his wounds were soon healed, and he seemed as strong as before.
Very soon, another fight broke out on the island.
“That guy has learned better. He’s challenging the Holy Oriole Academy.”
“Smart choice. The Holy Oriole Academy is easier to deal with; the others are all top geniuses from the other academies.”
“Don’t lose again, or you’ll be too ashamed to see anyone.”
The battle on the island became fiercer as they discussed. The white-robed woman was also a highly talented genius in the Holy Oriole Academy, known as the Goddess of Light. She had one of the top ten constitutions in the light class!
She was still on the winning side as she faced Dragon Devil’s demon constitution.
However, Dragon Devil unleashed more and more brutal strength as the battle went on, and performed skills he had failed to use in the previous battle against the Inferno Dragon, catching the Goddess of Light off guard.
Five minutes later, the battle ended.
Dragon Devil won!
He had revealed a horrifying strength that ultimately crushed his opponent. Many people who were expecting him to fail again were frustrated.
The Thousand Leaves Holy Lady looked cold. Although she and the Goddess of Light didn’t see eye to eye in the academy, they were still on the same side as they moved outside the academy.
“Humph!”
Dragon Devil returned to Su Ping’s right side and sat down. He glanced at Su Ping and snorted as a way to say that he was still qualified to be seated on the hilltop, even though he had lost to the latter.
However, one of the people who were waiting challenged him soon after he sat down.
The man was from the Sword Deity Academy, known as Sword Maniac. He was a messy haired guy carrying a sword that looked like a coffin cover. He obviously didn’t care about his image.
Dragon Devil changed his expression. Although he won the previous battle, it was a close one as the Goddess of Light wasn’t at all easy to deal with.
“I didn’t expect the Sword Deity Academy to take advantage of others,” said Dragon Devil in a mocking tone.
Sword Maniac said indifferently, “You think you’re the only one who can do that? Take some more of those pills of yours and let’s fight!”
“Fight my a**!” yelled the Dragon Devil. He had never been a civilized man to begin with, and he couldn’t hold back his fury anymore.
Those pills were awfully precious. He wouldn’t have taken one to challenge another person to reclaim his dignity if he hadn’t lost to Su Ping in such a humiliating manner.
You want me to gobble more pills? Why don’t you give me some?
“If you want to challenge someone, how about me?” intervened Dragon Emperor to lend a hand.
Sword Manic frowned, but before he said anything, the young man next to Dragon Emperor who carried a wooden sword put on a smile and said, “If you’re free, let’s have some fun.”
He looked like a harmless little boy.
Dragon Emperor said coldly, “I heard that you’re Sword God’s disciple. I’ve always been eager to find out how good you are. I hope you won’t embarrass your master.”
“You think you’re qualified to talk about my master, an Ascendant State expert?” said the young man with a smile.
“Humph!”
Dragon Emperor snorted but didn’t pursue the matter. Indeed, he couldn’t afford offending an Ascendant.
“Are you up for it? Get the hell out of here if you aren’t,” said Sword Maniac to Dragon Devil in an even harsher tone.
“Let’s have it!”
Dragon Devil could not stand such provocation; he gritted his teeth and swallowed another pill before he followed Sword Maniac to the island.
Yet again, another battle burst out. Dragon Devil showed all kinds of skills, but so did Sword Maniac, whose sword techniques were incredible. Five minutes later, Sword Maniac defeated Dragon Devil by a slim edge.
“They’re truly geniuses.”
“Dragon Devil be like, ‘I have more pills and I can still fight!’”
“Even if he has more pills, he doesn’t dare eat them anymore. None of the remaining guys on the hilltop is easy to deal with.”
“Maybe he can take advantage of the other candidate from the Holy Oriole Academy?”
“What do you mean? Are you implying that the Dragon Tomb Academy only takes advantage of women?”
“Enough, Hugh Mia Academy!”
“Those in the Dragon Tomb Academy are losing it! Haha!”
“What do you mean? Do you really think the Holy Oriole Academy is weak? The Thousand Leaves Holy Lady is our strongest student. He wouldn’t have touched the seat if he dared to challenge her!”
Down the hill—all the students were involved in heated discussions; the girls of the Holy Oriole Academy also joined the debate. Their candidates weren’t at all weak.
The Thousand Leaves Holy Lady in particular; she was a super genius of the like that only emerged once every couple of hundred years. They believed she would have easily suppressed Dragon Devil!
Dragon Devil gritted his teeth and went to the middle of the hill after Sword Maniac claimed his seat.
A few others challenged the seat takers; some chose the Thousand Leaves Holy Lady, and some chose Queen of the Seas, the other top genius from Hugh Mia.
Still, all the challengers failed and the seats were eventually uncontested. The Dragon Tomb Academy and the Holy Oriole Academy each claimed a seat of their own, while the other three academies ended with two each.
The coordinating Star Lord stepped up and asked everybody to train until the challenge of the Illusionary God Monument Mysterious Realm in ten hours from then.
The sun was permanent in that mysterious realm and thus there was no night time. Everybody started cultivating after finding a seat.
On the hilltop—Su Ping detected the surging astral power coming from the seat and quickly absorbed it through the Chaos Star Chart to strengthen himself.
The circle of light on every seat covered their cultivation techniques, so they couldn’t be seen from the outside. It was a peaceful experience.
There’s also divine power and a vague understanding of laws…
Su Ping’s eyes flashed. The seats on the hilltop did have a lot of advantages; both astral and divine powers were extremely abundant, and they were mixed with some thoughts left by others. Such thoughts could be a source of inspiration if any of them were stuck in a bottleneck.
Time flew by quickly.
Su Ping combined his own laws while absorbing astral and divine powers. He had accumulated much more laws than those in the Star State did; he could already try constructing a small world.
However, he didn’t know how to construct one, so he could only find out on his own.
Ten hours flew by in a flash.
A Star Lord flew over with a cluster of monuments.
Those monuments were of different sizes; they were surrounded by bloody streaks that looked like weird arrays.
“The Illusionary God Monuments challenge starts now.” The Star Lord’s voice echoed throughout the hill and brought everybody back to reality. “You’re free to choose any of the monuments. You’ll encounter different enemies in them, but their level will be the same as yours, even though their attacks are different. You will learn more about that before you enter.
“It’s recommended that you choose opponents that are most vulnerable to you. The higher points you get from the challenge, the more rewards you’ll get.”