Astral Pet Store

“A Bloodsoul Bead and Devil Bones?”

The young man was taken aback.

Those two types of food were better than Resentment Beads and Spirit Skeletons, and extremely rare in fact. It would be hard to locate those two kinds of food even at the famous stores in the upper town area. Did this small store really have them?

“Are you sure?” He looked Su Ping up and down with suspicion. When the young man moved his looks to the shelf behind Su Ping, his expression changed into one of shock.

“Of course.”

Su Ping turned around. He dug out the two items from a corner.

The young man stood there speechlessly in astonishment as he stared at the two bottles Su Ping took out. One of the bottles contained a blood-red bead which resembled an eyeball. In the other bottle, there were some bone pieces with some hair-like strands entangled at the edges.

Those were the Bloodsoul Bead and the Devil Bones.

“What…” The young man was at a loss for words. He couldn’t believe that this small store honestly had them.

Only advanced undead beings could forge the Bloodsoul Bead and the Devil Bones in their bodies. Those two items were precious. To obtain them, at least two advanced beasts of the undead family would have to be slaughtered.

“Do you want them?” Su Ping asked since the young man was still in a daze.

The young man came back to his senses. He noticed the price of the other items on the shelf, so, he asked, “How much?”

Su Ping answered, “The Bloodsoul Bead is 160,000 coins and the Devil Bones go for 180,000 coins.”

This came as another surprise to the young man. He didn’t think the price was too high. As a matter of fact, they were below the average market price. He was raising a pet of the undead family and was quite familiar with the food of this sort. On the market, usually, the Bloodsoul Bead would be sold at 200,000 at the very least. The price was 40,000 coins lower here.

Could it be that they were products of lower quality?

He thought about it and made a request, “Is it possible for you to open the bottle and let me take a look?”

Su Ping frowned. The bottle was specially made by the system and it could conceal the energy, which made it easier for long-term storage. When the bottle was opened, the energy would leak and the food would lose a bit of its properties.

That being said, he could tell that this customer was not in want of money and was sincere in making this purchase. After some thought, Su Ping agreed. “Sure. But be quick.” With that said, as the young man was ready, Su Ping opened the lid.

As soon as the lid was removed, a strong smell of blood wafted out. At the same time, the temperature in the shop plunged and there seemed to be a whisper of mystery. Su Ping closed the lid quickly.

The young man was stunned. That was a fleeting moment. However, he recognized right away that this Bloodsoul Bead was not of a low quality. Rather, it was the best of the best!

This wasn’t something that could be created inside an undead being of the seventh rank. It was highly likely that this Bloodsoul Bead came from an undead being of the ninth rank!

It would be acceptable to sell such a high quality item at three hundred thousand or four hundred thousand.

“Sir, is this… really just 160,000?” the young man couldn’t help but ask.

Given the look on this young man’s face, Su Ping could tell this man knew what he was talking about. Yet, the price could not be changed. Fortunately, he didn’t have to go through an ordeal to collect the Bloodsoul Beads. They were scattered around on the ground like garbage in the Chaotic Realm of the Undead. He could find them anywhere.

If it weren’t for the fact that his storage space was not big enough, he would have collected more. Also, he did not expect that such a common item over there could be sold at such a high price.

Su Ping said, “You can pay me more money if you think the price is too cheap.”

The young man laughed in embarrassment. Su Ping must be selling it at a cheap price on purpose. This was a good deal for him. Who could have thought that the items sold at this remote place in the lower town area were better and cheaper than in the upper town area? Was this because of the simple and unadorned nature of country folk?

Though the base city was surrounded by high walls and there was no distinction between urban and rural areas, the population inside the high walls were divided into different groups.

Most of the upper town districts in the central area of the base city were wealthy. Over time, the lower town area at the edge of the city became a rural area where the poor would gather; it was also a synonym for poverty.

It was the same in any base city.

“I will take them all. Thank you.”

The young man was quite polite to this person that he thought was unsophisticated. He could afford the food even if the price was several times higher considering his status. However, his money didn’t come by chance or anything else. He made his money by risking his life while exploring the uncultivated areas. Saving money was always better. “Okay.”

Su Ping nodded as a reply.

The two items gave Su Ping an income of 340,000 coins, i.e., 3400 energy points. Accounting the 7500 energy points he already had, he now possessed more than 10,000 energy points. He finally was able to upgrade the store to the second level.

He had thought that he would wait until the next day. Unexpectedly, he could reach the target right then.

“Are you the owner here, or the salesman?” The young man asked Su Ping for fear that he would be scolded if the salesman had given the wrong price.

“Owner.”

“Good…” The young man was relieved. At the same time, he was surprised that this person could run this store at such a young age. Didn’t he have to go to school?

All of a sudden, another question came to mind. Those two items could not be easily found. How did Su Ping get his goods when he was so young?

Su Ping had a general idea of what the young man was thinking about given the constant changes in the looks of his eyes. Yet, Su Ping was not in the mood to care about that. He asked, “Do you need anything else? For example, training or boarding service. You must understand that the services here are

good.”

The young man came back to his senses and he agreed to what Su Ping said at last. Out of curiosity, the young man put forward his question, “Do you offer training services here? Who is going to perform the training? You?”

Su Ping nodded, “Yes.”

The young man didn’t realize that Su Ping was also a trainer. Immediately, he stored away his casual attitude and asked, “What trainer level are you at? Can you train advanced pets?”

“Advanced?” Su Ping shook his head. “Nope.”

He believed he could train advanced pets. However, he had not yet trained a pet of the middle-level with above-average aptitude. The system had not unlocked the training service for advanced pets yet.

Maybe, according to the system, to train a pet and have it attain an above average aptitude was the most basic thing to do…

It was just, to have an above-average aptitude, which was measured against all the pets of the same family throughout history, was tremendously difficult.

The young man seemed to understand better. After all, Su Ping was young. It would be strange, actually, if Su Ping could train pets of the advanced ranks.

“How about middle-rank pets?” The young man went on.

“Sure.” Su Ping nodded.

“Oh?” The young man was amazed that middle-rank pets could be trained there.

That would imply that Su Ping was a trainer of the fourth rank at the very least

At the same rank, the trainers were usually more powerful than battle pet warriors. A fourth-rank trainer could be equal to a sixth-rank battle pet warrior.

That was to say, that boy was no worse than himself.

“Do you want to have a pet trained?” Su Ping was seeking confirmation.

The young man gave Su Ping a careful look. He believed that Su Ping would not lie to him given how nonchalant he acted when he sold him that Bloodsoul Bead and the Devil Bones at such a low price. After some thought, the young man answered, “Sure. I just happen to have this Fantasy Beast that has just reached adulthood. It is of the demon family. Can you train it?”

Su Ping nodded.

Fantasy Beasts were pets with a sixth-rank bloodline. If this pet had just reached adulthood, it would be at about the fourth-rank. Fantasy Beasts were pets of the demon family, used mostly for assisting. They were weak in combat abilities but they were skilled in creating illusions. For pets with weaker spirit abilities, Fantasy Beasts were a nightmare. Even advanced pets could fall into their traps if not careful.

“Okay.” The young man summoned his Fantasy Beast. He had to adjust his state and prepare for the Elite League. The Fantasy Beast would not be of much help to him. At the Elite League, it wasn’t likely that someone would use pets with obvious weaknesses. Most of the pets there were well-rounded. His Fantasy Beast would realize its potential only if it evolved into an Incubus Beast.

The Fantasy Beast was small and delicate, with its body floating in the air like the puff of a purple cloud. It had two googly eyes like two swirls, which gave the Fantasy Beast an adorable look and at the same time, made people dizzy.

The Fantasy Beast looked around curiously.

“When will the training end?” The young man asked. He thought he could come back for his pet after the Elite League; he planned to have Su Ping take care of his pet in the meantime.

“Tomorrow,” Su Ping gave his answer.

“Tomorrow?” The young man was shocked. Which kind of pet could be trained in one day?

Was that even qualified as training?

Su Ping threw a look at this adorable Fantasy Beast. He believed the Fantasy Beast would be very soft. He turned to the young man and said, “This is a middle-level pet. The training fee is 100,000 per session. Pay up.”

“…” Again, the young man was stunned.

One hundred thousand per session?

Even advanced trainers would charge less.

Besides, not only was the price high, the training would last for merely one day. Wasn’t Su Ping able to make 100,000 in one day?

Previously, the young man had thought that Su Ping was unsophisticated. After that, he believed it was a big misunderstanding. Or maybe, this man was selling the food at a low price on purpose to lure him into this trap. He heard that the poorer people were, the craftier they would be.

The young man was in deep thought.

After some consideration, he decided that he could accept it considering the pet food was cheap.

He could just convince himself that he was giving Su Ping the 100,000 coins for nothing. This wouldn’t be a loss to him. After all, he had gotten a good deal with the pet food.

“Sure. I will come and pick it up tomorrow if I am free. But if I don’t come, please look after it for a few days for me. I will pay for that service,” the young man said.

Su Ping nodded but he did caution the customer, “I advise you come back as early as possible. The boarding fee here is 2400 per day or 100 per hour.”

The young man opened his eyes wide.

One day and it would cost him 2400?

Just taking care of the pet for one day would need 2400 coins?

This would be too expensive for him even if he could make a million during each exploration trip!

This was the price that was seen at the big stores that could be counted as the best in the base city.

He might have been able to accept the price if this store were in a prime location, where even the rent of a dog house would be unreasonably high, and a designated person would be there to look after the pet without stepping away for one second.

But here… what could be the benefits behind the price, considering this shabby place? Su Ping was there alone. Even if he could look after the pet, with no equipment in this poor store, how could he take care of the pets?

Pushing down the urge to turn around and leave, the young man took a deep breath and said, “I will come back as soon as possible.”

So be it. He would consider the 2400 coins as compensation to Su Ping.

“Good.” The deal had been closed. Su Ping told the young man to write down his contact info.

The young man hesitated and wrote down his contact information. Given his identity, generally, his contact information wouldn’t be easily disclosed to outsiders. Moreover, such small shops usually had no credibility nor a guarantee to speak of.

“Gu Beichen?” Su Ping glanced at his name and nodded. “Remember to come tomorrow.”

“Sure…” Gu Beichen said no more and left with his Bloodsoul Bead and Devil Bones. Those two items were enough to feed his pet for a month. When those items were consumed, maybe, the pet’s rank could be elevated. That would be a major gain for the trip to this store.