Chapter 1011: The Gala Begins
Why did she feel the need to snort when she said goodbye?
Su Ping was puzzled, but the abundant astral power around him soon made him forget about it; he devoted himself to cultivation.
He didn't even detect the unexpected arrival of the Ascendant old man. Just to be safe, he set up a barrier to protect himself before cultivating.
"You should come out too."
Su Ping summoned the chaos beast, the Dark Dragon Hound, the Inferno Dragon and the other pets. He reduced their body sizes, so that they could fit inside the astral array.
After that, it was all a pleasant experience, practicing away.
Outside of the astral array—Loulan Lin stomped in fury, seeing that Su Ping had set up a barrier that barred prying eyes. She didn't know why she was angry, but she could do nothing about it.
"Princess Lin…" someone greeted her.
"Piss off."
"Sure thing."
The hubbub on the square gradually came to an end. Everyone gradually stopped minding about Su Ping after he stepped into the main cultivation seat and secluded himself.
Jue, the previous seat owner, was amongst the crowd—he didn't know what to do.
A few young men who had followed Jue for years mumbled and complained on his behalf.
"Boss, Director Yu is truly unfair. The guy is not part of our family. Why would he deserve the main seat to cultivate? Would he even try his best if the family has problems?"
"Exactly. He's just a guest. He would definitely run away if anything happened."
"Keep your voices down," said Jue as he withdrew his gaze and glared at them, "You've followed me for a long time. Don't you already know what you should say and what you shouldn't? Did you not see how he resisted Ye Ling? He's only in the Star State right now. Ye Ling will be left far behind when this guy becomes a Star Lord!
"Why should we piss off someone like him?"
"Well…"
His followers closed their mouths, though not entirely convinced.
Meanwhile, in the central meeting room of that planet—an old man suddenly arrived at a palace outside the meeting room, and then passed through the security check.
"Chief, please have a look at what happened in the holy land." The old man was none other than Director Yu. He waved a hand and displayed the confrontation between Su Ping and Ye Ling.
"Huh?"
In the front of the palace—a majestic and awe inspiring middle aged man raised his eyebrows. He remarked after watching the clip, "As expected of a Celestial's disciple. I heard that he was already admitted as a disciple in the star zone battle."
"Indeed. He can already fight a genius such as Ye Ling, even though he's only in the Star State. The gap between them isn't too wide. Unbelievable!" Director Yu remarked; he never thought he would see a Star State warrior with that much potential.
Su Ping had condensed a small world in the Fate State. That was tantamount to the ceiling of that cultivation realm.
Very few people in history had achieved that. The ones who did had either died by accident later one, or reached the Celestial State!
Su Ping was currently breaking the limits yet again, of the Star State this time. His future would be unimaginable if he continued growing like this!
"Some of our people disagreed with the idea of him becoming a guest, but they probably don't have anything to say right now." The Loulan family chief chuckled. "Well done, director. Hopefully, we'll have a Heavenly Lord friend in a few years."
"Chief, I've given away the best training seat in the holy land to him. I think it's a fair deal, considering that he wouldn't visit us too often," said Director Yu respectfully.
"It's fine. You have my permission. Don't worry about any disagreements," said the family chief with a smile. He knew why Director Yu was there; the Loulan family was too big to be completely united. In any case, he was the decision maker; he wouldn't let pointless disputes hurt his family interests—
All in all, it would be stupid for the dissenters to find trouble with Su Ping while others were trying to serve him well.
Director Yu was relieved to hear that. He turned around and left, as he had to inform the several members of his faction to make friends with Su Ping.
The gala was about to take place; all the different factions of the family were busy making preparations. The news of Su Ping and Ye Ling's confrontation had spread rather quickly; after all, both of them were top geniuses and would always receive a lot of attention. The news had even spread beyond the planet, all across the universe.
…
This astral power density is unbelievable. I've been gathering one star per day! Inside the astral array—Su Ping was trying his best to condense stars. All the astral power absorbed was automatically transformed into deity aura by the vortices in his astral oceans. His body was gradually turning into that of a deity too.
He was already half a deity at the moment.
Once the transformation was complete, he would be able to transform astral power into deity aura without the use of vortices. By then he would have the ability to transmit deity aura to others and help them improve!
It's more efficient to condense stars with deity aura. If my body is transformed into that of a god, the efficiency will very likely improve even more. I'll see if I can ask Joanna to let the Superior Gods help me, next time I go to the Demigod Burial.
Su Ping was truly looking forward to it; however, he wasn't in a rush. Deity aura was eight times as effective as astral power, while divine power was tenfold; that improvement wouldn't be as significant as the one he was experiencing.
I think that gods have the best physical attributes among all species. Only some of the rare beasts can best them.
Su Ping was then reminded of his Solar Bulwark. Unfortunately—although he could transform astral power into Golden Crow power, he didn't know how to make the best use of it. He had only inherited some secret techniques of the Golden Crows, but they weren't really comprehensive. That was why Su Ping kept using astral power.
I should visit the Golden Crows' world again someday and learn more, Su Ping thought.
In the blink of an eye—Su Ping had condensed fifteen stars in that seat.
It was necessary to light up sixty-three stars to condense the seventh Astral Painting. Adding up the ones condensed earlier, he already had 28 stars; he would have enough of them if he were to cultivate for another month.
I almost feel unwilling to leave. Su Ping was truly reluctant.
However, someone was calling out to him from outside the astral array.
Su Ping could only pause his cultivation, withdraw the Dark Dragon Hound and his other pets. He checked their levels; as expected, the chaos beast had made the most progress. It was already in the Fate State, becoming much more intimidating. It was probably able to even beat normal Star Lords.
That was completely unreasonable.
The chaos beast didn't have a small world, but the chaos aura emanated by it was enough to easily knock through normal small worlds.
That is correct. It could suppress Star Lords with physical strength alone.
"You guys need to keep it up. You don't want to fall behind, do you?" Su Ping urged his other pets.
The other pets gave the young beast angry looks. Even though their training with Su Ping was cruel and harsh, they had grown used to it; that is, until this new competitor showed up.
Su Ping saw a lot of people gathered outside the array, once he got out, but not many Loulans were present. Loulan Feng, along with Director Yu, were looking at him with smiling faces; Su Ping somehow found their gestures creepy.
"Mr. Su, sorry to interrupt your cultivation, but our family's gala is about to begin. We're here to take you to the high platform, if you would care to join." Loulan Feng chuckled, as he addressed Su Ping in a warm way.
The latter had already guessed the reason for their visit. He asked, "How long will the gala last? Will we go to the Sea of Illusions afterwards?"
Loulan Feng nodded. "That is correct. The gala will last three days, and friends from various star zones will come. Many of them will want to meet you."
"I prefer cultivating over meeting them," said Su Ping, shaking his head.
He wasn't being particularly condescending. It was just him having more fun cultivating, just like how nerds preferred playing games, instead of socializing.
"Mr. Su, it's never wrong to work hard, but there's a long journey ahead of you. Many of the visitors are Ascendants. Your life will be easier if you have more friends when you roam the universe," said Director Yu with a smile.
"Is my life not easy enough?" Su Ping was puzzled.
Director Yu found his reply amusing. He said, "Naturally, normal travel is indeed easy, but there's good stuff to be found inside relics and treasure troves that could benefit you. Those places have been occupied; you do have an extraordinary status, and you are a guest of our family, but not all the owners of those places would be as willing to let you partake in exploring them…"
He spoke in a rather subtle way, but he believed that Su Ping would understand him.
Su Ping shook his head. "What the Loulan family offers is enough for my cultivation. My master also gives me training resources. There are many relics and treasure troves, but I don't need all of them. Besides, I can always visit them when I reach the Ascendant State; I believe that their owners won't refuse me by then."
Director Yu was lost for words again, realizing that Su Ping had a point. He was only trying to persuade Su Ping for his family's sake. It was true that the young man wasn't short of resources, but any of Su Ping's friends could indirectly become connections for their family. Making as many friends as possible was how the Loulan family had thrived over the years.
Loulan Feng realized what was on inside Su Ping's mind, so he stopped Director Yu's persuasion. He said with a smile, "Mr. Su, let's go to the gala first. Oh, right, how do you feel about Princess Lin?"
"Princess Lin?" Su Ping was stunned. "You mean the grandma who wanted to challenge me?"
"Grandma…" Loulan Feng almost choked. He originally intended to ask Su Ping's impression of Lin; if he liked her, he could then propose a marriage between them. However, Su Ping's reply stopped him from uttering what he wanted to say.
Director Yu was equally stunned; he glanced at Loulan Feng, unable to believe his ears.
"Well… Mr. Su, you're very young, but it often takes a long time to jump from the Star Lord realm to the Ascendant State. Ye Ling for instance, whom you encountered earlier, has been stuck there for more than 1,500 years, and he's not an exception. It's not unusual to be stuck for tens of thousands of years. You'd be considered a genius as long as you make a breakthrough before you die."
Loulan Feng coughed and said subtly, "Although Princess Lin is a hundred years older than you, that age gap is nothing. Besides, Princess Lin has always been cultivating in the family estate, rarely going out. She's as innocent as a child."
Su Ping could only heave a sigh in his heart. Unable to play dumb any longer, he said, "She's a nice person. I can make friends with her."
Loulan Feng felt relieved. He said with a smile, "Princess Lin may throw a tantrum now and then, but she's not a bad person in nature. I believe you'll be good friends."
"Let's talk about that later. We should head to the gala." Su Ping wanted to veer away from that topic as soon as possible.
Loulan Feng nodded and dropped a hint at Director Yu, who took the cue and quickly left after bidding Su Ping farewell.
Loulan Feng, on the other hand, took Su Ping to the gala.
"You're asking me to spend more time with that guy?" In a corner of the square—Loulan Lin's eyes widened with disbelief after she heard what Director Yu said. "What's that all about? There are lots of people in our family. Can't they keep him company?"
Director Yu said with a bitter smile, "Ms. Lin, guys can only become his brothers. You, on the other hand, are different."
"You want me to marry him?" Her lofty upbringing shone through, as she was no stranger to arranged marriages. She became gloomy as she asked, "Have you asked my parents and Master about their opinion on the matter?"
"We've already discussed, and everyone thinks that he's a great partner for you…" Director Yu paused for a moment and said, "However, we won't force you to do anything. After all, you are also a gifted genius of ours. We simply hope for love to spark between you, but no one will force you if you find each other unsuitable."
Relieved, Loulan Lin snorted and said, "That's more like it. I won't waste my time on him if that's the case. Just like I said before, I will avoid all distractions until I become a Heavenly Lord. I admit that the guy you're interested in is excellent, but I'm not the least inferior in comparison. I too will have a chance of becoming a Heavenly Lord when I reach the Ascendant State!"
Director Yu smiled bitterly, as the girl didn't have enough potential to become a Heavenly Lord. Even if she did, she wouldn't be as strong as Su Ping. After all, she had gotten to such heights after consuming a lot of resources given by the family; her potential could already be inferred from this.
Their plans to have those two marry was partly because of the potential marriage of equals if both reached the Ascendant State.
"If there's any chance for it, you should reconsider, Princess Lin. You have to marry someone eventually. You may not find a better catch if you miss this one," Director Yu persuaded her.
Loulan Lin raised her eyebrows; she was more or less tempted. To be honest, her feelings toward Su Ping were dead neutral. She only stepped forward to defend him from Ye Ling because Su Ping was one of their guests and she didn't want him to be affronted.
"Maybe later." Loulan Lin snorted and left.
Director Yu felt helpless. Those two kids were equally tricky to deal with.
Su Ping and Loulan Feng had arrived at the gala by then. It was being held in a magnificent city floating in the sky, over the planet's most prosperous area.
Hill-like stairs had been raised by special devices. Astral crystals were also falling constantly from a large cloud above them.
Dragons and phoenixes were flying around the floating city.
Hardly had Su Ping arrived when he detected the Ascendant State auras. It was obvious that many honorable guests had been invited.
Loulan Feng personally attended to Su Ping and took him into the city. They reached a platform graced by beautiful waitresses. If Su Ping watched TV more often, he would have recognized that most were top stars from a certain planet.
"Mr. Su, have some rest here. Whatever you need, just tell them," said Loulan Feng with a smile.
Su Ping nodded and sat down.
The four beautiful girls peeped at Su Ping curiously, but none dared to look him in the eye. Any friend of the Loulan family was more powerful than the lord of a galaxy!
A single hair of such figures was more important than them. However, no matter how they observed Su Ping, they only felt that he was a friendly next-door boy. He wasn't like the intimidating bigshots they would usually meet.
Someone asked as soon as Su Ping sat down, "Is he Mr. Su?"