Astral Pet Store (WN)
chapter-186

Chapter 186 The Check-up

“You’re not leaving with us?”

The three of them figured out Su Ping’s intention. They sounded surprised.

Su Ping replied, “I want to go out there and explore more. After all, this is my first time visiting a Mysterious Realm.”

It was understandable that Su Ping would want to stay. However, since Nie Chengkong and Guo Yuelin had passed away, Ye Chenshan, Luo Guxue and Zhou Jing were no longer in the mood to stay. Besides, considering their strength, entering the Mysterious Realm again would only mean being close to danger. If they stayed, they would be lingering at the plaza and just looking on.

Ye Chenshan had built a shield to isolate their sound. He whispered to Su Ping, “What’s your plan about the treasures and materials we harvested from the beasts?”

Su Ping thought about it and whispered back, “How about we find some privacy and divide them amongst ourselves?”

Ye Chenshan looked at Luo Guxue and Zhou Jing. None of them disagreed. “Sure.”

“OK, let’s go and have our stuff checked first,” Zhou Jing said. There was a group of men in black stationed at the edge of the plaza. They were in charge of checking the stuff taken by teams leaving the realm. All the items the teams found during their explorations in the Mysterious Realm had to be checked.

That was to say, no one could sneak anything out.

Those men in black belonged to the behind-the-scenes ruler of Longtai Mountain. This ruler was not a single person; most likely, it was a large group. They weren’t worried about opening up the Mysterious Realm to the public or about anyone sneaking out any treasures.

Of course, if some team discovered masterpieces, this group would not “rob” them. They would use a fair way to buy the masterpiece, maybe with money or with other treasures.

In a sense, the exploration teams entering the Mysterious Realm were just working for others. The actual rare treasures could hardly be taken away. The explorers could only preserve the relatively valuable items. While some of the best treasures could not be taken away, the explorers could trade them for enough money to have a wealthy life or other equally valuable items. Of course, the explorers could also obtain an identity and status that they could not achieve by normal means.

As such, while some of the masterpieces had to stay there, there were still many explorers’ teams willing to go there. After all, the relatively valuable items were already good enough for most people. They would not be willing to keep masterpieces that even titled battle pet warriors longed for in their wildest imaginations.

Su Ping, Ye Chenshan, and Luo Guxue were a bit scared about the check-up.

They wouldn’t hide the Astral Spirit Fruit at the checkpoint; this fruit was not a treasure of the highest grade, it would not catch the attention of titled battle pet warriors. That being said, it would be enticing for those at the upper position of the ninth rank. After taking this fruit, they could reach the peak of the ninth rank!

Luck and fortune were needed to move further upward and break the shackles to become a real powerful warrior.

Ye Chenshan and Luo Guxue looked at Su Ping. They could pass the check if Su Ping ate the fruit right there. After all, the fruit could not be found if it was in Su Ping’s stomach. Even if someone were to find out, it was unlikely that Su Ping could spit it out.

Such consumables were the only items that could be “taken out” easily.

But.

While Ye Chenshan didn’t know the specifics about Su Ping’s strength, he was sure that he was not at the ninth rank. Therefore, taking the fruit right then would be a waste.

Luo Guxue knew Su Ping better based on what he did at the academy. At the moment, she truly hoped that Su Ping could eat the fruit. Even if he had just reached the ninth rank, the fruit could take him directly to the intermediate position!

Time was money for talents like Su Ping. Taking the fruit was worthwhile even if he couldn’t make the most of it.

wa

Su Ping had thought about it. However, he was at the upper position of the fourth rank and very close to move up to the fifth rank; it would be a waste for him to eat the fruit because he could achieve that small jump with cultivation.

Selling it is a good idea, Su Ping thought to himself. He didn’t care for this fruit. Taking it once was effective. Eating it twice would not bring him any benefit.

Since he had the tree, he could grow more fruit when he went back, to take it when he reached the upper position of the ninth rank. That was the best plan for him. Therefore, the original intention he had for this fruit was to sell it so that he could use the money to upgrade the store.

“Let’s go,” Su Ping said calmly.

Ye Chenshan and Luo Guxue were puzzled, wondering why Su Ping was acting so casually. Since the fruit belonged to him, they didn’t know what he had planned for it, nor could they give him any suggestions.

Soon, they arrived at the checkpoint.

There was a spacious room at the plaza. Many people in black uniforms were there. Some people in strange clothes were sitting or standing there. All of them were powerful; everyone was a titled battle pet warrior!

No one could smuggle anything from that place. Venerable the Blade and other titled battle pet warriors were observing the proceedings. The dragon scale lands inside the Mysterious Realm could not be monitored. But every corner of the plaza was under strict surveillance.

A bearded middle-aged man saw Su Ping walking over. The man with a straight face gave them a look and said, “Please move your backpacks here.”

This man was at the peak of the eighth-rank, one rank away from becoming a titled battle pet warrior. But this one rank meant a world of difference. The titled battle pet warriors could stay there in comfort and only intervene when someone roused trouble. However, this man had to sit at the checkpoint and instruct all those who passed to take out their stuff. He was a man that had to work office hours.

Ye Chenshan hesitated for a moment. Eventually, he opened his backpack and poured everything into a white tray on the side.

Apart from the prepared food, the only things in his bag were the crystals they had harvested from the beasts.

The energy crystals were some lumps found inside the beasts. As energy converged in those lumps, they would transform into something like pebbles. The lumps would no longer be pieces of flesh and blood. A profound energy was concentrated in the crystals; the pebbles appeared to be white. They produced a mysterious feeling.

Energy crystals occupied the majority of the space in Ye Chenshan’s bag. There were dozens of such energy crystals of various sizes and a few more had been stored in Luo Guxue’s bag.

The bearded middle-aged man was surprised to see that many energy crystals. To his bigger astonishment, he noticed there were crystals the size of a fist with bright colors.

The energy in those crystals was rich. Since the man had checked countless crystals, he could tell right away that those crystals were from ninth rank beasts!

There were six such crystals!

That was to say, this team had killed six ninth-rank beasts. Was that possible?

The bearded man was not the only one stunned. Some of the titled battle pet warriors sitting nearby sensed the surge of energy. They looked over in surprise and saw the ninth-rank energy crystals. They fixed their eyes on Su Ping and the three that were with him.

Their surprise deepened when the titled battle pet warriors sensed the strength of the four.

It was evident that none of the four were titled battle pet warriors. They were all just advanced battle pet warriors.

Of the four, Su Ping appeared to be the most mysterious. He seemed to be weak, even below the fifth rank. Was Su Ping hiding or was that his true strength?

The bearded middle-aged man asked Ye Chenshan, “Did you kill this many beasts?”

Ye Chenshan nodded. He noticed the tone of doubt in his words. Ye Chenshan explained, “Our captain and two master battle pet warriors killed those beasts. Unfortunately, they passed away…” The middle-aged man and those titled battle pet warriors understood. Still, they found something strange. The powerful warriors died but the weaker ones came back. Were those people too lucky or were their captain and the two masters too unlucky?

“Your bag.” The middle-aged man with whiskers pointed to Luo Guxue.

She opened her bag at once and poured everything out. There were some energy crystals; two were from ninth rank beasts. Apart from those crystals, she had placed some other useful materials harvested from the beasts in her bag.

Since they were in a hurry, they had left behind many valuable materials of the beasts, only harvesting the most useful parts.