Astral Pet Store - Chapter 1539: Lives (2)

“You have to bear in mind that the war they’re going to take part in is very meaningful too!” said Su Ping while staring at Sorcerer Ancestor Ti Tuo, “All living beings lose their consciousness upon death. The Ancestral Land of Chaos means nothing to those who have died. Even you, a mighty Sorcerer Ancestor, are also meaningless to those who are no longer among the living!

“So, it’s enough to feel meaningful when you’re alive.”

Ti Tuo said with a gloomy expression, “You dare argue with me?”

“What do you want?” Su Ping stared back at him.

“I don’t think he is wrong,” said the girl to intervene, suppressing the two parties’ rising auras. She glanced at Su Ping while addressing Ti Tuo, “Maybe we’ve failed time and again exactly because of that way of thinking. All species are the same; every living being is the same. However… Just because living creatures share that common instinct doesn’t mean that it’s right.”

“There’s no right or wrong in this world, just the strong or the weak,” said the ancestor after a snort.

Su Ping stared at him and said to the girl, “I hope that when I’m not cultivating, I can gather and train all species here; I will turn them into a team to maximize their combat abilities.”

“Humph. Why bother? I can just tweak their memories,” said Ti Tuo.

Su Ping said with a ruthless tone, “Sure, you can directly modify memories. However, doing so will only make their lives develop by only following a trajectory that you’ve set. They wouldn’t be any different from walking corpses. Indeed, it would be as efficient as using them as fuel. However, the greatest difference between living creatures and non-living creatures is the miracle of life!

“Such a miracle depends on diversity. It cannot be preset. Some people may remain idle, but others may unleash brilliant and unimaginable power. This isn’t something achievable by just modifying memories!”

Sorcerer Ancestor Ti Tuo snorted. “That being said, the efficiency is too low. You’d better focus on strengthening yourself. The Heavenly Dao army is already attacking the Ancestral Land of Chaos. War can start at any moment; we’re just waiting for you.”

The girl looked at Su Ping and said, “If you want to do it, just do it. I know you; I won’t stop you. Don’t forget that I’m your system. I will always take your side.”

“You!” Ti Tuo was furious.

Su Ping felt dazed as he looked at the girl’s gentle eyes. For a moment he found it hard to believe that the girl was the same system who sometimes argued with him and peeped at his thoughts.

“I understand.” Su Ping nodded.

“Humph, just spoil him will you!” Sorcerer Ancestor Ti Tuo was rather angry. He glared at the girl and left.

The girl watched him leave. She turned around and smiled at Su Ping, then said, “Although I gave birth to the twelve Sorcerer Ancestors, all three hosts are essentially my children too.”

Su Ping felt helpless over this matter. Speaking of children, he couldn’t get used to being regarded as a child by someone who bickered with him all the time.

“I always thought we were peers…”

“That was just you overthinking.”

“You can be the one on top.”

“That’s impossible.”

Su Ping shook his head and said, “I’ll keep cultivating, then. By the way, considering your current strength, it shouldn’t be a problem to suppress Sorcerer Ancestors, is it?”

“It’s not too hard,” said the girl with a smile.

Su Ping nodded and asked again, “What level are you? The Sorcerer Ancestors you mentioned, they can gather thousands of universes with a thought thanks to their Chaos Qualifications. What about you? What are you capable of? I find it hard to understand. The most ultimate power in this world can only destroy thousands of universes at the same time, right?”

“I’m similar to them, except that I’m stronger. How should I put it? Mine is a better quality.” The girl chuckled.

Su Ping nodded. The system did know him well; her explanation was easy to follow.

“All right, I’ll go and cultivate, then.” Su Ping winked. “I don’t need to pay energy points now, do I?”

“It’s on me. Just go,” said the girl, “Consider it a reward for upgrading the store.”

“How generous!”

Su Ping raised his thumb. Then, he noticed that Joanna was standing still, like a statue. There was definitely something wrong with her. After learning everything from the system, he knew that the system had temporarily “paused” her.

“Let’s meet again on the battlefield…” Su Ping said to the paralyzed beauty.

He selected a cultivation site and went in with the Dark Dragon Hound and his other pets.

There was no way of knowing if the system was lending a hand, but Su Ping realized that he was encountering more Ancestral Gods in the advanced cultivation sites, obtaining a lot of Dao power from each hunt; the number of condensed universes grew.

“System, the power I’m absorbing is yours?” Su Ping asked.

“More or less,” said the system, “You don’t need to feel guilty…”

“No, I mean, can’t you just transfer the power directly to me? Wouldn’t it be much faster?” Su Ping made a face like a curious baby.

Her reply was definitely brief. “Get lost!”

“I mean it,” said Su Ping.

“I mean it, too,” the system said, “You’re hunting, absorbing and digesting the power of those Ancestral Gods; new battles come to you all the time. The whole process is simple, which also helps you become acquainted with your new power. It’s no different from a direct energy transfer.”

Su Ping thought for a moment and realized it was true.

Time went by. Su Ping kept on training in cultivation sites, day after day.

Outside the store, on Sorcerer Ancestor Ti Tuo’s continent—

More species arrived and were arranged on the allotted territories.

“I will only try my best in the next war.”

High above, two figures were overseeing the continent. They were Sorcerer Ancestor Ti Tuo and the girl.

“I’ll run if we encounter danger. I don’t want to die; I hope you can understand,” said Ti Tuo as he turned to look at the girl. There was more in his eyes than the usual coldness. He seemed to be troubled by the situation. There was gentleness, regret and affection.

She answered with a slight nod, “It’s fine as long as you try your best. I don’t want to see you perish here, either. I’ve lost enough children as it is.”

Ti Tuo heaved a sigh and spoke softly to the void.”They’re probably going to be here soon…”

The girl nodded. “I can feel where they are. They’ll be here in three thousand years.”

“That’s early. We’ll get to meet them very soon.” He spoke while feeling a jumble of emotions. “I wonder if they’re weaker now. They were terribly beaten up in the previous two wars.”

“We should get ready too. It’s time to have the sealed weapons return,” said the girl.

Ti Tuo nodded. “Let’s reverse the Yellow Spring and summon them back. We’ll have them become familiar with each other sooner.”

“I’ll help him train them. He’s right; those species need to be trained and coordinated,” said the girl.

“Do you really support his theory? It’s just a bad habit that lingers from his weakling original self, even though he has already reached the Undying State. Besides, he’s not a mythical creature begotten by nature.” Sorcerer Ancestor Ti Tuo frowned.

“Our theory failed, that’s why I’d like to give his idea a try,” said the girl, staring at her child. “I also think that what he said and thought wasn’t wrong. Those lives don’t know anything about you and me. We are also meaningless in their eyes. It would be for the best to let them know that they’re going to embrace their doom. Otherwise… Their fate would be just too pitiful.”

“You find them pitiful? That’s an emotion only felt by the weak,” said Ti Tuo.

“Emotion is a power too. There’s nothing wrong about it,” said the girl.