Astral Pet Store

That sense of hostility had been noticed by Shen Huang and the others through the words of the envoys who went to visit.

The Celestials had cultivated hundreds of thousands of years. Although their level was not as high, they had governed vast star zones for countless years. Being experienced leaders, Shen Huang wasn’t upset when he noticed the cyborgs’ misunderstanding. Rather, he proposed to trade with them.

Aside from trading, he also proposed many activities to celebrate the alliance and get to know each other better.

Basha and the rest of the humanoids didn’t object to the idea. After all, it was impossible to banish Su Ping’s clan; the fact that he was able to sneak through the green glass suggested that he was too strong to be tamed. Besides, he was carrying the Selvega’s token of trust.

No matter how Su Ping had obtained it, he was worthy of respect. As the trade and other activities ran their course, all the cyborg autonomous districts sent their delegates. They had been alone for too many years and finally, that alien race appeared. Their curiosity and loneliness prompted them to visit the foreigners. They also wanted to find out if the new arrivals were truly evil.

Time went by, and the number of active cyborgs in the human continent increased. While interacting, Shen Huang and the others would secretly send their subordinates to figure out what the cyborgs were thinking. They were rendered speechless after realizing that they were considered evil in the cyborgs’ eyes.

Since they had finally figured out the problem, all they needed to do was to think of a pertinent solution.

Thanks to the demonstrations and all the interpretations, the cyborgs finally learned that the contract was not brutal slavery but mutual cooperation. A pet could renege its master’s orders if it was willing to pay the price.

The Celestials arranged exhibitions for the cyborgs, and the latter saw that many Ascendants were so close to their pets that they appeared to be partners. There were even weak Ocean State cultivators who were intimate with their pets. None of the scenes looked feigned, and the hosts gradually changed their attitude.

In the Central State

“I heard that this pet store was established by the leader of the aliens.”

“Their contracted pets are truly terrifying. Even if their level is the same as ours, they can easily beat us with the help of their pets; they have the advantage in numbers.”

“If only we could learn this technique. Too bad it’s their core technique; they would certainly not share it with us.”

A few envoys—under the secret orders of Basha and the others—went to the Central State’s core area after being warmly received by Shen Huang.

Seeing the splendid building and the long line of customers outside, the envoys realized the lofty status of the aliens’ leader and the foreigner’s enthusiasm about training pets.

“Hello, can we visit this place?”

One of the envoys stepped forward and skipped the line altogether. They had learned that it was a rule to wait in line to have your pets trained. However, they weren’t there to train any pets.

“Huh?”

Tang Ruyan looked at the somehow-familiar bluish cyborgs. All of them looked identical in her eyes.

“It’s fine if you’re just here to visit.” Tang Ruyan had learned a lot about that species thanks to their customers, and knew that they didn’t have pets. Besides, Su Ping had asked her to be polite to the cyborgs.

“Thank you.”

The envoy was very respectful. The Hyper-energy Gods had asked them to be polite to the aliens. Neither party wanted to ruin the alliance.

Tang Ruyan instantly led the four envoys into the store.

The four visitors instantly noticed that their senses were restricted when trying to probe the closed rooms; they could only observe through the naked eye. They felt that they had entered the territory of some horrifying existence; all of them started to panic.

Fortunately, being envoys hand-picked by Basha and the other cyborgs, they maintained a calm demeanor, and were both in the Celestial State. So, they behaved normally, without displaying the least bit of fear.

“What’s that?”

Right after they entered the store—the four envoys were attracted by the scene at the counter.

A middle-aged Ascendant cultivator was soothing a red-scaled dragon. The dragon’s eyes were bloodshot; it seemed to have a lousy temper.

“Red Pillar Dragons are just like this; aggressiveness flows in their veins. If caged for too long, it won’t be able to release a sense of bloodthirst. It’ll be a lot better after training,” said Joanna to the customer in a casual manner casually.

Having received a lot of pets, she knew most of them by heart. She had received a Red Pillar Dragon before, and it had the exact same behavior. Su Ping told her the same, back then.

“I see. That explains why it’s been so agitated, never responding to my thoughts.” The middle-aged Ascendant felt relieved.

“Take it inside,” said Joanna to Green Lady.

Green Lady acted as her assistant. Tang Ruyan wasn’t strong enough; she was too scared to approach the tough Ascendant pets. Only Green Lady was able to take them to the

pet room.

The redness in the Red Pillar Dragon’s eyes faded a lot when Green Lady touched it gently. It smelled a refreshing aura coming from the Green Lady, which helped ease its bad temper.

“That pet doesn’t seem willing to let go of its master,” whispered one of the envoys.

He could feel the emotion in the pet’s eyes. Although he had seen it before, it still felt

surreal.

To think that a normal enslaved pet would actually cling to its master.

After hearing that, Tang Ruyan found it odd and said, “Isn’t it normal? Which pet would bear to leave their master? Conversely, nobody’s willing to leave their pets. They are our partners.”

“Partners…”

The four envoys looked at each other, silently repeating the word.

Given their diplomatic status, they had mastered the language of the aliens, and they knew what the word “partners” meant.

“During a moment of life and death, the only things we can depend on are the partners by our side. You have partners too, right?” Tang Ruyan looked at them and said, “For example, your family?”

“Are they the same?” One of the envoys looked at her in confusion. All their fellow countrymen would count as partners, but the humans partnered with beasts.

“Aren’t they the same?” asked Tang Ruyan curiously, “Partners stand up for you when you’re in trouble. Pets can even die for you; why wouldn’t they be considered as your partners?”

The envoys had heard about that theory before. Still, they found it impossible to accept after hearing it again. After all, how could one regard some beasts as part of their own kind?

However, after days of getting to know each other, they realized that the aliens’ opinion on the matter was fundamentally different.

That opinion had nothing to do with the evil nature they had mistakenly conceived at the beginning

“Huh, you’re out.”

Tang Ruyan suddenly saw Su Ping, who had just walked out of the pet room. Her eyes glittered and she abandoned the four envoys to greet him.

“This is…”

The four envoys instantly felt horrified, noticing the man the moment he appeared. They felt a chill so cold, as if they had somehow been thrown into the cage of a ferocious beast.

Su Ping also noticed the four cyborgs. Seeing their troubled faces, Su Ping instantly realized what was going on and retracted all his killing intent. It was a slight gaffe, as he had just returned from a cultivation site and didn’t pay attention to the details.

“Who are they?” asked Su Ping in confusion.

“They’re here to visit, and probably to investigate,” replied Tang Ruyan telepathically.

Su Ping said, “Master said that the cyborgs don’t accept our pet training method, that they had even misunderstood us?”

“Yes. Judging from what they just said, they seem to have that idea. Humph. What do they know? Their level is not low, but their understanding is really superficial,” said Tang Ruyan.

Su Ping looked at the four envoys and thought for a moment. “Should I ask my master to hold a tournament with the cyborgs?”