Astral Pet Store

Chapter 747: Pet Contest

"Huh?"

Su Ping's reply stunned him.

Su Ping continued, "The battle pets that are sold in this shop are guaranteed to be excellent; we have to perform examinations to make sure of that. Please wait patiently; come tomorrow if you want to buy pets. If you want us to train or nurse your pets, the services are available right now."

All the customers were discouraged by his response.

Everyone was there for the Vast Sky Thunderous Dragons; none of them were interested in training or nurturing.

They preferred to train their pets in shops they were familiar with, in case the pets were ruined in a bogus shop and would potentially have to seek compensation.

Besides, pets were of critical importance to battle pet warriors… Who would readily hand them over to a strange, random shop?

The customers left one after the other; soon after, the shop was half-empty.

The customers were mostly there to witness the selling of the dragons. All of them left once they learned that the dragons weren't available.

After all, only a few people could really afford a Vast Sky Thunderous Dragon and establish a contract with it.

Su Ping wasn't bothered by the customers who had left. The dragons he had taken to the store had worked as the best advertisement for him, at least on that street. He would entice some of the customers into experiencing other services in his shop when the dragons were sold on the next day.

It was at that moment that a seemingly interested young was curious about the services. He asked, "Boss, can you train Void State pets?"

Even though he had never been to Su Ping's shop before, he was sure that whoever was able to get ten Vast Sky Thunderous Dragons in one go was surely not someone qualifiable as simple!

He perceived the shop's power and thought that it was probably being backed by a major corporation.

Su Ping looked at the young man and found that he was an Ocean State warrior. He said, "I can train any pet below the Star State."

"Any pet below the Star State?" The young man was slightly surprised, further convinced of his speculation. He asked, "What about the type? I intend to train a Void State Imprisoning Winged Dragon!"

It was another popular pet below the Star State in Silvy; it was a hybrid between demons and dragons. It was almost as strong as the Vast Sky Thunderous Dragon!

Su Ping smiled and said, "There are no restraints. You can train any type of pet here."

The young man widened his eyes ever so slightly. No restraints? That's quite remarkable!

Every trainer had pets they were familiar with; they wouldn't train just any other pet. After all, there were hundreds of thousands of pet species.

Each of the species would have its own features. A lot of time and effort was required to become familiar with those features.

When Su Ping claimed that he could train any type of pet, wasn't he meaning that there was a large group of trainers behind the shop?

Is he collaborating with a certain Trainers Association?

The young man thought quickly and attached even more importance to Su Ping's shop.

He didn't go to that street often, but he was a local resident in Woffett anyway and he had never heard about Su Ping's shop, which could only mean that it hadn't been in business for long!

After all, how could a shop capable of taking in ten Vast Sky Thunderous Dragons be unknown in Woffett?

Newly-opened shops would always provide the best services at the beginning in order to attract more customers. That was the best time to pay them a visit!

As he thought about that, the young man instantly asked, "Boss, how long will it take for you to train the pets?"

"Half a day if you're in a hurry. If not, you can pick up your pet the next day," replied Su Ping with a smile.

"…"

Filius was rather stunned.

Half a day, if I'm not in a hurry?

One day, if not?

Was it pet training, or pet bathing?

He had never heard that training could be completed that quickly, unless it was for the lowly pets of apprentices who had just become battle pet warriors…

But he was hoping to train a Void State pet!

Not even a high-star master trainer could finish the training in such a short time!

Filius became suspicious of Su Ping's shop for a moment.

Su Ping noticed the suspicion in the customer's eyes and felt rather helpless. He wondered if he had to keep the pet around for an additional week or a fortnight in order to please the customers.

He would have done that to save time if it didn't affect him.

However, those would take up a lot of space in his shop!

Su Ping could only try to persuade the customer. "Don't worry. The training will be short but definitely effective; your pet will at least grasp a new skill, or have a slightly improved combat ability."

His new shop wasn't too popular anyway; he was aiming to attract any customer he found.

He would later have regular customers such as Mia, and his time and trouble could then be saved.

"…"

Filius was at a loss for words.

He had felt a bit suspicious about Su Ping's shop a moment earlier, but now he was almost certain that something was wrong with the shop!

You're telling me that half a day or one day of training is enough for my pet to learn a new skill, or to improve its combat abilities?

Do you take me for a fool?

How could a trainer be so good? Is this guy a two-star ultra, or a one-star ultra trainer?

However, there weren't any such trainers on the entire planet!

Two-star ultra trainers were rarely-seen in the entire Zeruprun solar system. The leader of the Laiyefa family—the ruler of that solar system—would never hesitate to visit them at their home.

As for the one-star ultra trainers… There were only a handful of them in Silvy!

"Boss, I'm from the Moreno family," said Filius to Su Ping while staring at him.

Su Ping: "?"

I'm offering to train your pet. Why are you telling me your family name?

"What do you mean?" Su Ping looked at him peacefully.

Filius' rising fury suddenly faded as he looked at the calmness in Su Ping's eyes; he then remembered the ten Vast Sky Thunderous Dragons again. Judging from their sizes, at least three of them were Fate State beasts.

This shop… Filius swallowed the doubts he was about to say out loud.

He was truly uncertain.

The shop owner could be a fraud, but was it necessary for him to trick anyone if he could get three Fate State dragons in a single outing?

Is this shop really backed by an ultra trainer?

Filius was deep in thought. He hesitated, just as if he were in the middle of a gambling game.

"Hey, if it isn't Mr. Filius!"

At this moment, a mocking voice was heard near the door, then a young man in famous, fashionable clothes walked in. The watch on his wrist was of limited edition, and not just for ornamental purposes; its inlaid energy formation was strong enough to resist a Fate State attack!

That watch could only be bought by those who were powerful and had connections.

It was also a symbol of the upper class.

The young man held a tall, beautiful woman who had purple long hair and a cold face. Still, there was tenderness in her eyes when she looked at her male companion.

"Parks!"

Filius turned around and saw the young man. Then, he became grim, with cold light flashing in his eyes.

"Are you here to train your pet? A passerby just mentioned that this shop has ten Vast Sky Thunderous Dragons. Is it true? Hey, are you the boss?"

The latter half of his sentence was directed at Su Ping.

"It's true, but they won't be available until tomorrow," replied Su Ping with a casual smile.

"Really?" Parks stepped forward and smiled. "Boss, can you make an exception for me? I would like to buy one today, even if it means paying more. Money doesn't mean anything to me."

He then glanced at Filius and chuckled. "Are you training your pet here because you want to challenge me at the Pet Contest?"

Filius said coldly, "My goal is the top of Woffett City, and you're just a stepping stone in my eyes. You don't deserve to be my target!"

"Haha…" Parks laughed and said, "You'll have to beat me first before you can brag about securing the top. What makes you think you can achieve that? You'll be using your Imprisoning Winged Dragon that was defeated by me?"

Filius clenched his fists and said coldly, "I was just careless!"

"Losers always have excuses. Hilarious and pathetic…" Parks shook his head with a smile and said to the pretty girl next to him, "You see? He's from the Moreno family. You should keep a distance from his family, still arrogant despite their declining state. They'll be destroyed soon!"

The pretty girl looked at Filius curiously and pursed her lips with a smile after hearing that. She didn't say anything, but her smile made Filius feel awful.

"Boss, how about it? Are you going to sell me one or not?" Parks ignored Filius and said to Su Ping, "I can pay you another hundred million if you sell it to me today. How does it sound?"

Su Ping looked at the two customers who were evidently enemies, then said with a smile, "As I said, please come again tomorrow if you want to buy them. Besides, the prices of the pets in this shop are fixed. You can't pay any more, or any less."

"Huh?"

Parks raised his eyebrows and looked at Su Ping. "Boss, that's quite a cocky rule!"

Su Ping smiled. "Rules are rules, and every customer in this shop has to abide by my rules."

Parks narrowed his eyes and stared at Su Ping. He eventually chuckled and said, "Since the boss refuses to earn extra money, so be it. I'll see if I'm in the mood to come here tomorrow… After all, unlike some people, I already have a Vast Sky Thunderous Dragon…"

He turned around as he spoke, walking away while holding the girl.

Parks was arrogant but not stupid; the fact that Su Ping's shop had obtained ten Vast Sky Thunderous Dragons suggested that there was a major corporation or family backing him.

It would be idiotic to piss off someone whose background was unclear.

Being a descendant of a major family, Parks had been taught about those things since childhood. Arrogance alone would not allow him to grow.

Su Ping looked at Filius after Parks left; the young man seemed to be suffering from constipation. He asked him with a smile, "What's the Pet Contest you mentioned? Are there any prizes?"

Filius seemed to have woken up from a spell of sorrow and fury. He looked at Su Ping and replied with another question, "Boss, is your training really that fast and effective?"

Su Ping raised his eyebrows, unbothered by his question being left unanswered. He said, "I don't want to repeat myself. You can give it a go."

Filius gritted his teeth and said, "Okay!"

Then, he finally remembered Su Ping's question and said rather awkwardly, "Sorry, I didn't answer your question. You don't know about the Pet Contest? It's a gala held on planet Rhea every three years!"

"Is that so? I'm not very familiar with it," said Su Ping, shaking his head.

Filius noticed Su Ping's hair color and appearance; realizing he was a foreigner he added, "You must be new to this place, boss. The Pet Contest, as its name suggests, is a competition for pets. Their owners won't step in; pets have to fight on their own!

"The contest is divided into three categories: Ocean State, Void State, and Fate State!

"The top ten contestants of each level will be awarded in the end!

"If you can secure the top place in any level, not only will you win a huge prize, you might also get the appreciation of the Star State experts!

"The lord of our planet always invites his Star State friends to watch the finals; they tip the contestants generously. More importantly, your pet may become famous after a single battle!"

Filius's introduction gave Su Ping a better understanding of the competition.

The pets would fight each other without the masters' intervention?

So, wouldn't the pet with the highest strength and aptitude be the winner of each category?

Too bad the minimum requirement is the Ocean State. It's impossible for the Little Skeleton to participate, or they would have definitely had a lot of fun. Su Ping was more or less regretful.

However, the Little Skeleton seemed to be about to break through; if so, it would be possible for it to participate in the Ocean State category. Considering its aptitude, it wouldn't be hard to secure the top place.

"You can search it on the Internet if you want to know more about it. You can receive abundant rewards in the regional and global rankings at every phase of the contest. If your pet is acknowledged as the worldwide best in its level, it will be given a fruit that can activate its power of understanding and raise its aptitude to an even higher level!

"The pet's owner would also be rewarded. You may get ten million astral stones!" Filius announced with eager and jealous eyes; he knew it was already an extremely difficult goal for him to secure the top place in Woffett City.

Parks, for example, was already a strong opponent. There were also a lot of other local experts.

"Astral stones?" Su Ping was slightly surprised. What were they?

But he didn't ask; he would rather search for them with his Lord Badge later. He didn't want to come off as an idiot if they were something elementary, scaring off the customer in the process.

"Boss, I'd like to train an Ocean State Green Alligator," said Filius.

He didn't go with his Imprisoning Winged Dragon. After all, Su Ping's claim was too unbelievable; he wanted to try things out first.

Su Ping raised his eyebrows after hearing the guy's decision, realizing his purpose.

Still, he chose to not comment on it, as it took time to win somebody's trust.

"Okay." He quickly accepted the task.

Filius learned of the resizing mechanism in Su Ping's shop when he summoned the pet and was slightly surprised by it.

He immediately remembered the ten Vast Sky Thunderous Dragons that disappeared in Su Ping's shop, which made him feel more hopeful about the shop. If the training was truly as effective as Su Ping claimed, he could have his pets trained there every day before the Pet Contest was held.