The Trainers Association was headquartered in the Holy Light District.
That was the most prosperous district of all, where an inch of land was valued in gold. The residents of the Holy Light District were all prominent officials and eminent notables with money or influence.
Along the way, Su Ping saw many luxury cars parked by the roadside. Some people were dressed up quite sharply and the astral pets that they had were all the rare ones that could be worth millions.
The car ride took him about an hour and a half. Finally, Su Ping arrived at the gate of the Trainers Association’s headquarters.
He got out of the car, surprised by the hustle and bustle outside the gate. Many people were lining up, waiting to get inside. In front of the crowd was a gate full of power and grandeur with a height of dozens of meters. The words “Trainers Association Headquarters” were written above the gate. The columns on each side were carved with hundreds of astral pets. The carvings were quite vivid; people would feel that the astral pets were gazing back at them.
But the thing that got Su Ping’s attention was a stone tiger bristling up in anger. The stone tiger that was sitting by the gate had dark fur that was more like a burning flame. Its eyes were brimming with radiating vigor. Though this was merely a stone sculpture, the tiger was as natural as though it were living. There was a strange feeling about that stone tiger that made Su Ping raise his eyebrows.
That tiger was like a beast king!
Su Ping browsed through his memory but failed to remember which beast king it was. And yet, since he had seen tens of thousands of beast kings, he could tell that the stone sculpture was that of a beast king for sure, given the overwhelming sense it radiated!
Su Ping soon looked away. There was no need to make such a big fuss about it, even if this were a real beast king.
Su Ping stepped closer to where the crowd was and picked out a line to be in.
“Those must be the Columns of Beasts. How impressive!” “Look, that is the Silvermoon Hound. I have that as my pet!”
“Yingying, your Silvermoon Hound is a rare advanced pet. Of course you would find its image on the columns.”
In the line by Su Ping’s side, there was a group of young people made of three boys and two girls. They seemed to be from the same base city. They were talking excitedly at that moment.
“Those astral pets are so lifelike! I can almost feel they are breathing!” “No wonder this is the headquarters of the Trainers Association. The building is even more majestic than our government building.”
“All of us must pass the test this time, so we can all return with victory!”
The young people were excited. One of them who appeared to be in his late twenties said with a smile, “Yingying, I wish you good luck. You will have quite a promising future ahead of you if you can pass the test to reach the sixth rank. Maybe the Trainers Association will take a liking to you. You’ll be able to apply to stay here at the headquarters. Given your talent, it won’t be a problem for you to grow to be a master trainer!”
“True. Yingying, we’re all counting on riding your coattails.”
The others chimed in happily and they were all gazing at the girl with admiration.
The other people standing in line couldn’t help but turn around to look at the girl. Much to their surprise, they found the girl named Yingying was barely twenty. Would she be able to reach the sixth rank?
If she managed to do so, she could be regarded as a young genius even at the Holy Light Base City!
The girl named Yingying had skin akin to porcelain. She blushed as she felt the gazes darted at her. She lowered her head and protested a bit, “Brother Lin, you flatter me. I’m not so sure that I can pass the test.”
That young man comforted the shy girl, “You’re too humble. If I were you, I would have told everyone about my abilities. Look around you. Those people are all my age. People your age don’t even dare to come to the headquarters of the Trainers Association. I hear that there are more people for the test of the seventh or eighth ranks than for the second or third ranks.”
Yue Yingying raised her head and took a look around. Su Ping was the only one whom she saw of her age range. Blushing again, she looked away.
The young man noticed her reaction as well. He realized he had just misspoken. “Hey, dude, which ranking test are you here for?” the young man asked Su Ping.
Su Ping had heard the conversation, which he found boring and childish. He darted the young man a look but didn’t say anything.
The young man was unhappy after being ignored. “I just asked you a question. Didn’t you hear me?”
The young man’s friends hurried to stop the young man who was about to lose his temper. After all, this was the Holy Light Base City and they were outside the headquarters of the Trainers Association. That was not the place for them to make a big fuss.
The young man was mad since Su Ping had yet to say a thing in reply. After some thought, the young man did swallow down his fury. “What a brat. What are you even here for?” The young man snorted.
“Lin, let it go.”
“Listen, we cannot alert the guards. We would only get in trouble.”
The others placed themselves between the young man and Su Ping, then tried to calm the young man down lest the two would break into an argument.
A dozen minutes later, it was Su Ping’s turn.
“Are you here for the certificate? Which rank?” The guards asked as a routine and were about to write down Su Ping’s answer.
Su Ping shook his head. “I’m here for the conference but I lost my invitation on my way.”
“The conference?”
The guard was taken aback. That Brother Lin and his friends were moving up the line as well. All of them were staring at Su Ping in a daze. He was here for the conference?
The guard raised his head. He was about to put on a look of respect when he saw how young Su Ping was. His raised lips were curled down again. Grumpily, the guard said, “We do have a conference ongoing but that is for master trainers. The attendees are all eighth-rank master trainers. Kid, that is not the conference you meant, right?” “That is the one.” Su Ping nodded.
Well, the Trainers Association sure valued him. They invited him to the master trainers’ conference directly.
The guard didn’t know what to say. Brother Lin and his friends breathed in relief and they were all eyeing Su Ping as if he were a lunatic. “Are you here for the conference by yourself or are you here to accompany the seniors in your family?” the guard asked with a frown.
“Myself.”
“Yourself?”
The guard had lost all patience. Pulling a long face, he scolded Su Ping, “Do you even know what you are talking about? We do not allow people to make jokes like this. You’d better leave right away!” “Hmm.”
Brother Lin couldn’t help but sneer. Going there to show off was a suicidal mission.
Su Ping frowned. But he could only blame himself for he was the one who had burned off the invitation. If he had known, he would not have done it so impulsively.
He thought of a solution. “I lost my invitation but you must have my name on the record. You can go and verify that.” The guard didn’t anticipate that Su Ping would not let it go. Angrily, the guard said, “You mentioned you’re here for the master trainers’ conference. Do you have a master trainer ID?”
Su Ping answered at once, “No, because I never passed the test. But if you go and verify the name list, you will find the name.”
“Who gave you the right to come if you haven’t passed the test?” the guard retorted.
Su Ping understood that he had phrased his reply poorly. He explained in a hurry, “I meant I did not take the test, not that I failed the test!”
The guard blinked in confusion. His face clouded as he said, “I am not in the mood to get into this word game with you. I can hear from your accent that you’re not from the Holy Light Base City, right?” “What?” Su Ping raised his eyebrows. “What does that have to do with which base city I am from?”
“Everything!”
The guard snorted. “We did have master trainers your age in the Holy Light Base City but never in other base cities!
“You do not have the ID, nor the invitation. You are making a scene here. I would imprison you directly but since you’re still young, I would rather not ruin your life. You’ll be added to the blacklist of our Trainers Association if you continue with this mess. You will lose your future!”
“…” Su Ping was speechless. “Go and verify. You will see my name.”
“You are not quitting, huh?” The guard was foaming at his mouth.
“What is the matter?”
Right then, a voice came from nearby. Three people stepped over, two men and one lady. The voice belonged to a middle-aged man. Standing by him were a young man and a young lady in their twenties.
“Go and get ready. You have to learn more about this conference,” the middle-aged man said to the young man and the young lady.
“Yes, sir.”
They nodded with respect. They were glad to be able to participate in the master trainers’ conference which would be immensely beneficial for them.
“Off go you.” The middle-aged man walked to the gate.
So did the young man and the young lady. Both of them cast a glance at the people in the line.
“What is the noise about?” The middle-aged man frowned.
The guard was startled to see the middle-aged man. He bowed, together with the other guards. “Master Trainer Shi.”
Master Trainer?
The onlookers waiting in line were surprised to find that the middle-aged man was a master trainer.
Brother Lin and the others quickly stood up straighter.
The middle-aged man waved his hand. “There are so many people in the line. Hurry up. Do not waste their time.”
The guard who was talking to Su Ping felt his heart had skipped a beat. He cursed inwardly at Su Ping, while he forced a smile on the outside. “Master Shi, it’s not that I am not doing my job. This young man here is creating trouble. He said he is here for the master trainers’ conference and that he has an invitation. I asked but he said he didn’t pass the test. I…”
The guard wanted to complain!
The middle-aged man eyed Su Ping in astonishment. He saw how young Su Ping was. “Kid, this is not a place to fool around. Do not destroy your life because of this.” The middle-aged man frowned.
“I’m not here to create trouble. I did have an invitation. You can go and check it. My name is Su Ping.”
Su Ping had to repeat his explanation.
The middle-aged man frowned. He was about to persuade Su Ping when he found the name familiar.
In the past few days, the Vice Chairman had been talking about this unique trainer in some base city and that guy seemed to go by the name of Su Ping as well…
The middle-aged man sized Su Ping up and down. Was the trainer this guy? So young? Or, did this young man just happen to have the same name?
“Are you sure?” Shi Haochi asked again.
Su Ping nodded forcefully.
“Okay. You can come in with me,” Shi Haochi said solemnly, “But you’d better think about the consequences if we find you’re lying!”
