Astral Pet Store (WN)
chapter-362

Chapter 362 Test by an Eighth-rank Cyborg Pet

“Lady Yan, of course, you’re right. Everybody would have to show their true strengths on the stage and no sore losers would be accepted!”

The family head of the Ye Family chuckled but it was more like a sneer. “Mr. Liu’s ‘friendly reminder’ is right. Indeed, the kids are stronger than those from previous years. I have to say that the Longjiang Base City is blessed with extreme luck, we are fortunate to have so many talents in our city. The young men from the Liu family, including their young master, couldn’t even make it to the Top 5. That wouldn’t have happened in the past years!”

“I agree. There’s a galaxy of talents this year!” the family head of the Mu family chimed in and darted a glance at Liu Tianzong.

Hmm, this is a slap on your face. Let’s see how you continue stirring up the pot now!

Qin Duhuang took a look at Zhou Tianlin who appeared to be calm. He just kept on sipping his tea, enjoying the conversation as an onlooker. It was understandable that Zhou Tianlin would prefer not being part of the conversation. Nobody from the Zhou family had made it to the finals, either. Then Qin Duhuang turned to Liu Tianzong whose face had turned cloudy. “Lady Yan, do not misread Mr. Liu’s ‘show of hospitality’.” Qin Duhuang grinned.

Yan Bingyue glanced at Qin Duhuang but said nothing. She had already made her thoughts clear; there was no need for her to utter any more words.

Sitting next to her, the old fox Yin Fengxiao immediately sensed the “friendly” atmosphere between the major families. Just like he had expected, the internal strife was serious.

Yin Fengxiao smiled before he interposed, “Lady Yan is still young and can be a bit too candid. Please forgive her.”

Mu Beihai smiled. Just then, he had said those words because he wanted to shame Liu Tianzong and at the same time, warn Yan Bingyue. After all, her words were too aggressive. If he had said nothing, Yan Bingyue and her people would have thought that the main families of the Longjiang Base City were timid and spineless.

Since the remaining participants were from the three major families, her words had essentially been harsh to all the three major families.

Sure, the girl had been provoked by the instigating Liu Tianzong. That being said, her words couldn’t be forgiven!

“Who’s that girl?”

Xu Kuang could no longer hold back his curiosity.

Qin Shaotian said nothing to him. He was still unhappy because Xu Kuang had spoken rudely to him while in Su Ping’s store.

Mu Yuanshou was a man of steady character. He, too, said nothing. He just kept breathing in and out to adjust his state.

On the other hand, Ye Longtian answered the question but he did try to lower his loud voice. “Don’t you know this? The girl is from someplace else. She’s trying to leverage the Longjiang Base City, to win the championship so that she can go and compete on the international stage to win the global championship. I heard that her strength is unfathomable. She’s at the same rank as ours but her abilities are equal to the titled rank!”

Both Xu Kuang and Su Lingyue were taken aback. “The titled rank? How is that possible?”

Ye Longtian was speechless for a moment, after seeing the two of them so shaken. “Why not? You are like that, aren’t you?”

“Er, right, yeah.”

Xu Kuang scratched his head.

Su Lingyue appeared to be a bit embarrassed. The titled rank? Without the battle pet Su Ping had given her, she wouldn’t even be able to win against a seventh-rank advanced battle pet warrior.

Seeing the reaction from those two, Ye Longtian only shook his head. He stopped talking to them and turned to Qin Shaotian and Mu Yuanshou. With this girl joining the competition, one of the current Top 5 would be eliminated. They had seen how powerful Su Lingyue and Xu Kuang were. Su Lingyue had already competed against Qin Shaotian. Considering her abilities, she would not be the one eliminated. As to the rest of them, they had to win against Qin Shaotian who had lost to Su Lingyue.

However…

Although Qin Shaotian had lost once, he was still formidable. Ye Longtian could not say for sure that he would defeat him.

Qin Shaotian, Mu Yuanshou, and Ye Longtian were sharing similar thoughts. They exchanged some eye contact and they could see the determination in each other’s eyes.

Qin Shaotian remained indifferent. But he was no longer as composed as before. Ever since he lost to Su Lingyue, his fighting will was at an all time high.

Ye Longtian could detect the coldness in Qin Shaotian’s eyes as well as his resolution to win. Same as him, Ye Longtian was also strongly seized by passion.

It was ten o’clock.

People’s cheers gradually quieted down. The commentators had been waiting for a long time. They turned on their mics and used exciting words to enhance people’s enthusiasm. Then, they started to announce the rules.

The commentators finished explaining the rules. The finals at the Longjiang Baes City level had just begun!

At the end of the speech, countless fireworks flew up from around the stage, including around the venue’s perimeter. The sound of fireworks and brilliant sparks filled the entire stadium, igniting the atmosphere.

The mist caused by the fireworks was dispersed in the wind. On the stage, sexy cheerleaders danced happily to the music. On the big screen in the audience, profile pictures of the five participants were displayed. The photo retouching made them look better than in person.

The commentators officially introduced the five participants once again. The audience would shout in joy every time they read the information of a participant.

Each contender had already developed a fan base of their own. The one with the most fans was Su Lingyue, followed by Qin Shaotian and Xu Kuang.

Ye Longtian and Mu Yuanshou, given their mediocre performance previously, had fewer fans but still had great support.

Some people had favored Ye Longtian from the beginning and they would stick with their choice all the way.

After the introduction of the five participants was over, the commentators suddenly began to say something else while at the same time, an empty space appeared next to the five profile pictures on the screen.

That empty space confused the audience.

Soon, that empty space began to spin and a picture that had been artfully prepared showed up. It was Yan Bingyue who was sitting next to Qin Duhuang.

Yan Bingyue had a breathtaking look, but the coldness on her face made her look detached. The fine-tuning had accentuated the coldness on her face.

Baffled, everyone heard the commentators’ excited voice as the picture continued to spin, “Next up, is our sixth participant!”

What!

The audience burst into an uproar.

Everyone looked at each other in speechless astonishment. The sixth player?

There should be five. What’s with the sixth one?

Some people had picked up some grapevine information. Smirking, they began to explain to the puzzled crowd around them.

“A sixth participant?”

Su Ping was surprised, just like everyone else.

What’s the meaning of that?

All the eliminating matches were over. So, the sixth player just came out from nowhere?

“It is true…” Fei Yanbo mumbled.

Mr. Luo and Ms. Lin also turned to Fei Yanbo. “Fei, what is true?” He asked in a hurry.

Fei Yanbo came back to his senses. He looked at Mr. Luo and then at Su Ping. Realizing that Su Ping was unaware of the story, Fei Yanbo began to explain. “Anyways, I heard this from our Principal. There have been some changes to the Top 5 matches. Some VIP would be coming to the Longjiang Base City to join our match. I thought that was just a rumor. As it turns out, it is true.” Fei Yanbo tried hard not to show that he was pleased with himself about knowing this inside information.

“Seriously?!”

Mr. Luo stared at Fei Yanbo. “How unfair!”

“I now.” Ms. Lin frowned as well. At the same time, she stole a glance at Su Ping. One of the Top 5 was his sister. Su Ping should be the angriest about this newcomer. They, after all, were just onlookers.

Su Ping raised his eyebrows. He, too, felt it was unfair.

Everyone worked hard through the challenges. How could you just cut in line?

Because you’re beautiful?

I am handsome!

I didn’t do anything like that!

Fei Yanbo continued, “Fairness… Huh, we have all been working for years. Do you think we haven’t seen enough unfairness? There’s nothing we can do. I heard that this girl has strong connections and is from some powerful background. No one in the Longjiang Base City can afford to anger her. Look at the five major families. Why else do you think they can accept this?”

After those words, all of them shifted their sights to the first row, only to see the girl in the picture, who was actually sitting with the family heads as if among equals!

They became dazed for a second because of this.

Unbelievable!

Those family heads were all titled battle pet warriors. They were usually the ones calling the shots. How could the girl sit with them?

“That…” Mr. Luo was stunned speechless. He couldn’t even complain. Disaster emanates from careless talk. That he understood.

Mr. Lin looked away but said nothing more.

Even the five major families were unable to disagree with the arrangement. One could imagine how threatening the girl was.

If they had said anything offensive and the girl heard, they, the nobodies, would have been killed without a chance to defend themselves.

Su Ping gazed at the place where the girl was. He saw two familiar faces, the family head and the elder from the Zhou family. Since those major families had accepted this fact, it wasn’t his place to jump out and say anything against

it.

So be it. Anyways, Su Lingyue was not going to be the one pushed out. No one could stop her from getting the championship!

As the sixth player’s information was read, clamoring comments rose in the venue. Most of the audience was unaware of the inside information. All the people voiced their doubts because they deemed this action unfair.

That noise displeased Yin Fengxiao and the others.

Yan Bingyue kept as expressionless as before but the coldness in her eyes deepened.

The representatives from the major families acted as if they had not heard all those questions. It was the government that had made this arrangement and this was not their business. The government could go and clean up their mess.

“Quiet!”

All of a sudden, a representative from the government flew up and stood in the air above the stage.

Titled battle pet warrior!

As a titled battle pet warrior came out, the hubbub of voices quieted down. No one could afford to offend a titled battle pet warrior. The commentators were afraid to say anything. They left it to the titled battle pet warrior to do the explanation. “I understand that you’re unhappy about this. We are sorry for not having revealed enough information previously.” The titled battle pet warrior from the government looked around the venue. He remained unafraid, even as he addressed one hundred thousand people. “It is by no means accidental. Lady Yan Bingyue was unable to participate in the previous matches due to certain reasons.

“But, at the Longjiang Base City, we select talents!

“And we will not miss out on any chance to discover a talent!

“Lady Yan Bingyue has proven to us that she can be one of the Top 5. Here, we will perform a test. If she can pass it, she will participate. If not, she won’t have the opportunity!”

The audience looked blankly into each other’s faces.

Some had accepted the explanation and thought that they could understand that Yan Bingyue had missed out on the previous matches.

However, there were still others who were unsatisfied. She could still take part after being late? What about the times when people were late for a bus, then? Or for work? Could working late make up for that?

Could I take the college entrance exam again if I were late for it?

In life, when you’re late, you miss your opportunity. That was it.

Of course, since it was a titled battle pet warrior that had made the announcement, people would not dare to voice their questions. They did, however, displayed their unhappiness on their faces.

The titled battle pet warrior continued as the voice of doubt died down, “The test is that Lady Yan Bingyue shall withstand a full-force strike from an eighth-rank Cyborg Pet with her own strength!”

After those words, everyone began to look around in astonishment.

ON her own?

An eighth-rank Cyborg Pet’s attack?

How!

The Cyborg Pet would never show mercy. They would act as long as the level of their energy allowed. To withstand a strike from those pets would be hard even for eighth-rank battle pet warriors. After all, compared to beasts at the same rank, battle pet warriors were much weaker. That was a fact known to all.

Not to mention the fact that the pet was two ranks higher than Yan Bingyue!

The titled battle pet warrior was happy to see the people’s reactions. He understood that his words had achieved the desired effect.

“Now, let the test begin. Here we go.” The titled battle pet warrior waved his hand as he made the announcement.

With the help of astral powers, his voice echoed across the venue and he directed everyone’s attention to the stage.

Soon, a group of staff members came out from the corridor. At the same time, a Cyborg Pet that was entangled in wires and cables stepped to the stage, surrounded by many people.

The people in the audience held their breaths.

The test began.

The titled battle pet warrior flew to Yan Bingyue and whispered, “Lady Yan, sorry about this. Please.”

Yan Bingyue answered calmly, “No big deal.”

Then, she stood up, raised her hand, and said, “My sword.”

The maid Xiao Ju who was holding the sword handed it over at once.

Yan Bingyue grabbed the handle and unsheathed the sword. The edge was so clear that it could mirror her breathtaking face.

“You won’t blame me if I accidentally break the pet, will you?” Yan Bingyue asked.

The titled battle pet warrior didn’t expect this question. “Lady Yan, you cannot use your battle pet.”

“I won’t.”

With that said, Yan Bingyue hopped onto the stage.

Qin Shaotian raised his eyebrows. Another swordsman?

He found it interesting. Because of Qin Shuhai’s influence, Qin Shaotian had become addicted to swords as well. Qin Shuhai had said in person that Qin Shaotian was quite talented and he had studied the many secret skills related to swords.

He loved swords.

If Qin Shuhai was the King of Swords.

Then Qin Shaotian would be the Sword Addict.

He believed that he was going to become the God of Swords!

As he looked at the girl with the sword, Qin Shaotian couldn’t wait to fight her.

On the stage.

As she jumped onto the stage, fewer and fewer people were expressing their questions and doubts.

Soon, a staff member approached Yan Bingyue.

The first thing to be tested was not for her to fight, but to test her rank.

The staff member took out some devices and the camera streamed the test onto the screen as well as on the TV channels.

That was a test device to ascertain people’s ranks.

Many battle pet warriors recognized it. This device was new, eliminating any possibility of cheating

“Lady Yan, please,” a man said.

Yan Bingyue released some astral powers.

Soon, the device began to glisten. A row of lights were kindled, eventually stopping at the red part of the sixth light.

She was at the peak of the sixth-rank!